Richard D. Preston

CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON THE FIRE

Me and my buddy are up and at it early today, some kind of excitement about the holiday hustle and bustle, with genuine carols being sung in perfect harmony off in the distance. The lights of the city are glowing brightly just before sunrise and there was some hope in the air of a great meal this evening downtown. Should be a fine day under grey skies: s’posed to snow later in the day. A white Christmas in the forecast always seems to uplift the spirit this time of year – for most folks anyway.

It’s Christmas Eve, and pretty much like any morning in the city, bleak and cold, temperatures hovering around freezing and frigid. No telling what the day will bring, never do these days. Just gonna see what fate has in store and row with the holiday flow. The coffees hot and the fire is warm, Hands feel good wrapped around this Java, the aroma alone would have enough caffeine in it to wake up any self respecting former service man away from home. I’m in no damn hurry to be out scurrying the streets in the maddening Christmas throng. I’ll just read yesterdays news and make my way into Bean Town and see what’s shaking. Do some window-shopping, you know, the normal thing to do around Christmas.

Says here in the paper that there were two more brothers killed in Baghdad at a checkpoint – just doing their job and whammo, some rag head blows himself up taking these two boys with him to make a statement. Some freaking statement all right, Merry Christmas Momma!

Blackhawk down, mid air collision of some sort, claims more lives, Car bombings, explosions and death in Israel. Some girl is missing presumed dead, and bunch of young ones half starved to death searching through garbage cans for something to eat, and by looking at their momma and daddy’s guts they ain’t missed a meal. Shit!

The Government is talking about spending eighty billion bucks to rebuild what we just blew up over in Iraq. I mean, their talking about billions of dollars as though it was cheap as chicken soup. Man what I and half of the poor sumbitches round here wouldn’t give for just a hundred bucks to call our own. I don’t understand the finances of war or the logic of breaking it to fix it. Some call it high finance strategy on Capitol Hill. I call it a giant cluster fuck and a waste of money. We got folks starving in the streets of America and we can’t feed our own, let alone build safe places for them to stay; makes one want to love the bureaucrats to death… literally. I don’t see anywhere in this paper where they bulldozed down a city building yesterday ‘cause there were squatters living in it trying to keep out of the elements. Old men, some women and children cast out into the mean streets so some slumlord could make a quick killing on a real estate deal. Where’s the justice?

This is a joke; some movie star is donating a few million to save the habitat of bullfrogs in the rain forest of East Dip-wad Argentina. Another movie geek is funding another grand sum of money to help out starving actors. What a freaking humanitarian. Wonder if he would do it without the publicity? Here’s another, two smart assed rich kids who have had a golden spoon shoved up their ass all their lives are living on a farm somewhere in Podunk USA, making a living off making fun of honest hard working folks who farm for a living. And, we the people are enjoying this immensely. Beats the shit outta me! I guess I just don’t have a sense of humor left, specially when it comes to spoiled, over privileged, rich, snot nosed, arrogant twats berating the underrated hard working Farmers of this country.

Damn, it’s starting to snow,

It’s gonna make it rough getting into Boston now. White Christmas is falling fast and hard upon us. Guess I’ll just curl up and grab a few winks and wait the storm out. Christmas Day will get here soon enough and well, my funds are limited anyway. Tired of bumping into the crowds and getting those “you poor bastard” stares and derogatory comments, best just settle in for one more cold assed December day.

But first before I do I’ve gotta go shopping for a new home. I hear they just unpacked a lot of freight down by the pier, might be some choice cardboard boxes to choose from. Maybe even a wooden crate or two to keep the home fires burning. All I need now is some Chestnuts and my holiday will be complete.

Here’s hoping

Merry Christmas Bro…