Happy Cauliflower

I’ve heard people say that sometimes they are not sure what holiday greeting to use. If you say, “Merry Christmas,” would it be inappropriate if the person happens to be Jewish or Muslim? How about “Happy Holidays”? That seems innocuous, doesn’t it? Don’t ask me; I’m the Grinch, remember? At least I try.

Yesterday, I had to run some errands, one of them being going to the post office in Show Low to send out a book order. As I was going in, a woman was coming out, so I held the door for her and said, “Happy Thanksgiving.” She looked at me and said, “I’m a vegan.” Not knowing what else to say, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well, happy cauliflower.” She didn’t seem all that happy about that either. What can I say?

At least I found two people happy to see me while I was at the post office. There was a family there, including a little girl, maybe 6 or 7 years old, and a younger brother. She looked at me with my white beard and whispered, “I think that’s Santa Claus.” Me being me, I smiled and said, “That’s right, I am Santa Claus. These are the clothes I wear when I’m not working on Christmas Eve.” The girl gave me a big smile, but the boy just stood there with his eyes wide open in wonder, so I shook his hand and talked to him for a little bit, and he assured me that he had definitely been a good boy all year. Then big sister said that they were there to get passports because they were going to Ireland for Christmas. I assured them that Santa goes to Ireland too, and she asked if she could hug me. I said that was fine as long as it was okay with mom and dad, and when the parents nodded it was okay, I got a hug from both kids before I left.

Back at the house I finished making the corrections to the chapters that Terry had edited and proofread for me and then sent them off to Roberta and Judy so they could go through them. When I was finished with that, I wrote another chapter, somewhere around 3,200 words.

While I was doing all that Terry was at home keeping busy in the kitchen. She made two beautiful pecan pies as well as getting bread dough ready for rolls that she will bake in the morning before we go over to Tiffany and Kenny’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. We’re looking forward to family time together, and all that good food.

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of my standalone mystery, Black Friday. We all know a person like Raymond Winters. He is Everyman. You see him daily on your commute to work. He sits in the cubicle next to yours. He’s the guy plodding through life, just going through the motions. He’s not happy. His work is not fulfilling. But he never expected anything more. At 41, he’s stuck in a rut, without the energy to climb out. Sure, he dreams of a different life. He dreams about it a lot. But Raymond knows the difference between dreams and reality.

Then Raymond’s life takes an unexpected sharp turn after a chance encounter with a strange woman. Overnight he finds himself alienated from his family, shunned by his neighbors, and questioning his own sanity. Raymond is in over his head, and if he survives, life will never be the same. It’s a tale of betrayal, lust, and broken dreams that you will remember long after you finish the last page.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Little kids, little problems, big kids, big problems.