From: mjmh@crsa.bu.edu (Michael J M Holmes)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Falling postcards from the sky...
Date: 7 Jan 93 20:42:22 GMT
Organization: Boston University Center for Remote Sensing

From waaaaaay up in the rafters, a postcard floats to the ground 
near the bar.  Mike picks it up - one side is simply solid purple 
(guess who!!), and the other side has a relatively neatly written
message, in purple ink.  Mike scans it, and then goes to the 
bulletin board to post it for anyone who wants to read it.

_____________________________________________
Sorry to have to do this in this way, but I'm just back from the 
holidays, and haven't had a chance to catch up on the majority of 
the posts.  I hope the Pizza Party is going swimmingly though!
Well, here is my Christmas, 1992:

Christmas with the family!  Didn't actually go badly.  I arranged
for a ride from my roomie, Bob, whose family lives in Rhode Island
 - my family is in southeast Mass., almost directly on the way, so I
get rides with Bob frequently.  I felt a little sneaky about the fact 
that I made Bob drive a little later than he wanted, in order to
ensure that I 'missed' Mass.  My Mom continues to say she
accepts the fact that I am not a Christian, yet will always try to
get me to go to a Mass, saying that it would be a great chance to 
see my grandmothers, so many people at the parish ask about 
me, etc,  etc.  So I just try to avoid the whole thing - not my 
usual style of handling such a problem, but the direct approach 
just hasn't provided me with any results.

So I got home on the evening of the 24th, no one home except 
my brother (becuase he is still Christian, Mom spares him the
attempts to 'trick' him into going to a Catholic Mass!).  We got 
along very well - in fact, he started asking me about how I, as a 
non-Christian, dealt with the religious nature of our family, 
especially during this holiday.  He said that he was worried 
because it seemed like I was 'hiding' my true beliefs.  It was a
great talk, because obviously both of us had felt some strain 
from our almost totally Catholic family, plus it was a good
opportunity for me to talk to him about something more than
what I believe - but how I *live* what I believe.  

He still wonders why I don't *tell* everyone in the family that
I am a 'Buddhist,' but I have yet to feel a need to do so.  I 
*know* it would create a controversy, and that some would 
understand, and others wouldn't - but so far, since it doesn't 
come up, I don't bring it up.  If a relative asked me point-blank - 
are you still a practicing Catholic, I'd answer honestly, but no 
one has asked me that in the last 4 years or so!!!

My parents came home, and we had a buffet style dinner, and 
then opened ALL of our presents.  Because, for the first time 
ever, the extended family gathering would NOT be at my 
grandmother's house, but at my parent's house - so we cleared 
our nuclear family gifts out the night before.  Gram's health has 
been deteriorating a lot in the last 2 years - mainly due to lung 
disease.

[Beseeching mode ON]: Please, anyone out there who STILL
may be a smoker - QUIT!!  All of my grandmother's health 
problems are directly related to her smoking habit.  I have seen 
an independent, stubborn, proud, loving woman reduced to a 
sort of shocked helpless frustration at her inability to do much 
except sleep, watch TV, and take pills and breathing machine 
treatments.  It's probably been one of the most wrenching 
experiences my family has ever had to go through - she has been 
hospitalized twice and had a three-month stay in a nursing home 
- all just in this past year.  I hate to get pushy about this because 
I know some smokers who get quite defensive, but please 
consider becoming a *nonsmoker*  [BM OFF]

Highlight of Dec 24:  Watching my Dad open the German
cuckoo clock that my brother and I got for him.  He'd asked for 
one last year (when I visited a friend in Germany) but I wasn't 
able to get it then - but my friend shipped it over this fall.  My 
Dad has been unemployed for about 6 months now, and it was 
nice to see him get enthused about something - in fact, he 
insisted that he put it up and get it working right then and there.

Christmas Day - hectic and fun, very little intrafamily tensions 
which occasionally had cropped up in the past.  Mom was a little 
stressed as she always is when playing hostess.  Everyone 
decided that *I* was the best present-wrapper (I use lots of 
ribbon and bows, and *surprise* a purple holiday motif!!).

Highlight of Dec. 25: Playing 'Taboo' with my brother, my 2 
cousins, and my cousin Tim's fiancee-to-be.  For anyone who
hasn't played the game, it comes with a 'buzzer' that can be 
quite annoying - we spent a lot of time using it like a phaser and 
'zapping' each other!!

So, all in all a most happy Christmas.  I hope everyone had a 
great holiday, and *maybe* I'll catch up with the posts and my 
work to be able to *virtually* see you all soon!

Many purple hugs to all!

/*

(purple C open-comment, and honorary Texan)

:)
-- 
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Mike Holmes       mjmh@crsa.bu.edu           "Happiness Will Prevail!"
Boston University Department of Geography (a truly GREAT place to work!)
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