Well, I am glad to say that I made it through the

Thanksgiving holiday without a hitch, although I didn’t obey

the recommendations of medical advice.In other words, I ate

like I wanted to, and cast all care to the wind-at least

until the holiday season has passed.I enjoyed being the good

armchair quarterback that I always knew I could be, and then

the holiday was over.The focus has now shifted straight into

high gear. People are going absolutely crazy out there,

rushing to beat the sales, and grab all of those gifts.We

all really have great intentions, don’t we? We start out, in

good faith, planning to get everything early, and then, at

the last minute, we are getting those gifts of convenience,

then ones you can buy anytime that you wish, and so where

did all that smooth planning go?Imagine if you will, Clark

Griswald. For those of you not privy, Chevy Chase plays

Griswald. He was the sap that wanted to make the perfect

Christmas Vacation for his family.The reason that I ask is

that I was reminded of him when I was putting up Christmas

lights Saturday evening. More specifically, I really was

reminded of him as I was hanging my head over the edge of

the roof, reaching my industrial stapler across what felt

like a mile, trying to staple that last wire down.The best

part was the dizzy feeling that came with sitting back

upright. I was reassured that everything was going to be

alright, after I had a vision of the paramedics putting a

splint on both of my legs and tying me down to a backboard.

You see, the vision made me realize, I was not going to

spend this holiday season in a cast.So, once the lights were

all up, I could once again concentrate on the important

things in life.I had skipped lunch, to work during the

daylight hours on the house, and now it was time, once

again, to cast into the wind those words of caution from

medical advice.And so, before I was through, I had eaten two

humongous homemade hamburgers, along with a beans and franks

casserole that I couldn’t get anyone else to partake of with

me, and before the night was through, I had my ritualistic

Blue Bell Buttered Pecan Banana Split.You know, the kind

with that extra rich aerosol whipped crme covered with

hershey’s real milk chocolate syrup?Sometimes I wonder if it

wouldn’t be just a little bit easier if you could buy

cholesterol in a bottle, and mix it into milk, just like

chocolate syrup.Anyhow, I am going to be covering basketball

games this evening at Ft. Dale Academy, during the first

cross-town rivalry of the round-ball season this year, when

the Tornados of Greenville Academy come knocking.Its been a

while, I wonder if I should stop at the frying frisbee

before I go to the game-you know, to pick up a couple of

&uot;Big Ones&uot; and fries, or maybe a good old

milkshake.Seriously, I will be following doctors’ orders,

just after the Christmas goose is polished-off.I’ll see you

at the courts, should be an interesting week.