A BLOG ENTRY ABOUT NOTHING - THAT'S SOMETHING

A NEW LEARNING
Last night I had no clue what I might write as a blog entry today. No theme stood out to me. Dumb-headed politicians had done nothing new that deserved comment. The writing muses who visit me got stopped in heavy traffic or something. They didn’t show up. I awoke with the thought that today’s entry would be about nothing.

Not only is that not implausible (oops, double negative). Take Two: Not only is that plausible (meaning conceivable, feasible, and possible) but also it is not precedent setting (an action to be used as an example for a similar action). In fact in a series of 1992 Seinfeld episodes called ‘the Pilot,’ a storyline unfolds in which NBC approaches Jerry and offers him the chance to make a pilot. He consults with his terminally unemployed, no talent best friend George. George suggests that it be a show about nothing. NBC executives are initially dubious about the merits of a show about nothing but they eventually give the go ahead. In truth, Jerry’s own ‘Seinfeld’ show was a series pitched by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David as a "show about nothing," Relating the everyday happenings in the lives of Jerry and his friends, Seinfeld became one of the most popular and influential TV shows of the 1990s in the U.S., and ran for nine seasons. (HERE'S THE YOUTUBE CLIP)

We cut our own Christmas tree yesterday. We began this family tradition when our children were toddlers. With our daughter’s move from Edmonton in August, this became the first December that all our children and grandchildren went tree cutting together. There were puddles of water sitting in some of the tree fields. An old adage says that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. I learned another. You can lead children near water puddles but you can’t make them stay out of them.

I have maintained a mustache and goatee for the past two months. Christine does not appreciate facial hair. Everywhere we go, people notice and comment and they are customarily affirming to me. It makes me look distinguished they say. It fits my new place in life, my artistic concentration. Finally last night she kissed me goodnight, slowly, as if she was accepting that it is here for a while and she will live with it.

The flu against which I was immunized last year never arrived in Canada. This year I again got a shot, and I have contracted a head and chest cold that doesn’t leave. There may be no correlation. It simply bugs me.

When I was running three kilometres every morning no one in my family paid attention. No one followed my example. Mind you that was a few years ago. I have done some on again, off again walk/runs but I am not a consistent runner. I have some weight to drop. Lately my daughter and daughter in law are running with new friends from the Running Room and are enthusiasts. Last night my wife told me she had bought me a Running Room membership. I told her I didn’t want it. I don’t want to be told when to run, how to run or to be part of something organized.

I have been a leader all my life but in actuality, the women within our family and among our friends, come up with the ideas, set the plans, make the decisions and pass along the news to us men. I don’t think we men mind but we like to complain that we are always the last to know.

I had better stop. I could write about nothing all day long.