Everyone could use a good laugh...

... and this is the best laugh I've had all day! I give you -- FURBY IN A MICROWAVE!

Traditions

Well, I'm starting to get excited about the holidays. I'm on vacation next week -- we get next Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving, and I always take the other three days as vacation. I'll probably do a little Christmas shopping; I've already got a few things, so I'll pick up a few more. When I go back to work Christmas will be less than a month away, and I can start wearing my Christmas sweaters! Hee! I'm kind of tongue-in-cheek about wearing them, but all in all it's just another one of my many annual traditions.

And speaking of that -- yes, my birthday is also next week, and I'm reading Death of a President again. Husband and Young'un saw me lugging it around, and they had to tease me a little. "Don't you have that book memorized by now?" Actually I almost do, but I savor the ritual of reading it. I'm so much older, now, than JFK lived to be -- that's surprising to realize, since he and his administration were towering adults to me, back when I was ten. I don't know how many of them are even still alive... and those who are, are old. But for me they're frozen in time on November 22, 1963, like a fly in amber. Every year about this time, I open that book and there they are, waiting for me. Hello darkness, my old friend...

We had a great time last night!

Last night Young'un, his best friend, and I went to see comic Jim Gaffigan perform at Illinois State University. That's about an hour's drive from here, and Young'un drove us there and back in the Grand Prix. He did fantastic! Interstate driving, at night, some of it even on I-55 -- and he handled it like a pro. Of course, it helped that we'd driven the route last Sunday afternoon! I hadn't been to ISU in so many years I'd forgotten exactly how to get there, so we got the route from Mapquest and ran it in daylight. That way, when he was actually driving it at night in traffic, I could concentrate on being his driving mentor without the distraction of being map-reading navigator as well. It all went smoothly as a dream; I was even prepared with the exact change for the $4 parking fee.

We had great seats, right in the middle and pretty close to the stage on the orchestra level. It was a full house! And what a show! The opening act was a young comic who I'll bet will be headlining his own shows before too long -- he was really good. Then Jim Gaffigan took the stage. I've seen him on Comedy Central and really enjoy his comedy. He does a sidesplitting bit about "Hot Pockets" that was the climax of the show. I laughed so much I was out of breath, with tears on my face.

Afterward Jim was in the lobby to meet everyone, sign autographs, and pose for pictures. This was handled really well, with those portable tape things set up like they have in banks, to herd us in a serpentine formation. There was something of a crush at the entrance to this, and here it helped the boys that they were with one of the few grownups among all the college students! The MamaBird gently but firmly edged us into position to start down the line. Young'un had come prepared, with a "Hot Pockets" box for Jim to sign. He was delighted! He wrote, "[Young'un], these will kill you!" with an arrow to the filling, and "Diarrhea pockets", as well as his name. We hadn't brought a camera, but we had Young'un's phone, and we used it to take a picture. That's my tall Young'un on the right.