WILD AND SWEET, THE WORDS REPEAT
To outsiders, our Christmas Eve gathering must look like a giddy ride of liberal aging hippie fun. Everybody gets gifts from Japan and Guatamala, and there are all kinds of vegetarian goodies to be eaten. But a big community of families can be just as vindictive and grudge-keeping as a group of uppity Bostonians or Philadelphians. (I'm not trying to pick on you, Boston or Philly, but in my worst dreams of family get-togethers gone wrong, I see you.)

That's not to say that it's a knock-down drag-out disaster, but it is a little tense. Everybody is constantly obsessed with saying the right thing, even if that right thing is a proper send-up of the Republican party, etcetera etcetera. I'm surprised how uncomfortable I feel in the environment that formed me, but I would never think of being uncomfortable socially at school. Really. Every time I'm at home I feel like an awkward fifteen year old over and over. It's horrible. At school I'm as close as you get to having the quips of Oscar Wilde and the looks of Grace Kelly in one package. (Well, to a lesser extent. But it's there.) I guess what I'm trying to say is I MISS MY FRIENDS SO MUCH. They're so funny and good-natured.

On that note, thanks for the kind words about my poems, Dave. Really. Your thoughts weigh heavily with me.