Just be your Elf

The Space needle and a tree. Yes, the girl from Michigan is writing about New York from Seattle. Deal with it ;)

In the last few days, I've watched the movie "Elf" about 5 times. Directed by the underrated Jon Favre and starring the big kid Will Ferrell, who despite looking like an ex in a certain light now and again… always makes me laugh.

Most of the time I fell asleep or was doing something else while it was on, so in all actuality I probably watched it straight through about once. It's a great happy movie to fall asleep too, I like something light in the background. And the music is really jammy so it's good to have on doing chores and what not.

At any rate, for awhile I couldn't figure out my sudden obsession with this small little holiday flick. I was getting worried.

And then after about viewing 4, as Elf made it out of the Candy Cane Forest, and past the Swirly Twirly Gumdrops, and he's walking through the Lincoln Tunnel and he comes out........

And there it is. The Big Apple. All shiny and pretty and exciting and...and it hits me.

"Elf" is a giant video love letter to NYC. And it gets better the more you watch it. And double bonus if you know and love the City that Never Sleeps! The city that wears Christmas like no other.

But Christmas comes to wherever you are, it's that small light in all of us, that shines no matter where you are. Santa can always fine you! :)

We need a little Christmas, right this very minute

Song of the Day

"We Need a Little Christmas"-Various Artists

There are two things that I've lugged around during my many moves- a box of records (the vinyl kind that contain musical recordings) and my big blue Rubbermaid box o’ Xmas.

Yes Ginny, I’m a Chris Missy person.

You either are or aren’t a Xmas person, to varying degrees. Some people aren’t into Christmas for religious reasons, or they think they’re too cool for the room, that’s ok. But some people are just plain mean and hateful and those are the ones that need a little Xmas.

I fight it. Sometimes I say I’m not opening the box, it’s too much trouble. Things are tough, the world is in shambles, Christmas is for kids, blah blah blah…

Which is precisely when we need a little Christmas right this very minute.

My Christmas addiction isn’t really the religious sort, much to my mother’s chagrin. But it’s that concept of good. Of the brightness that shines in all of us, no matter how tarnished the world makes us.

Monet liked to paint what he called “momentary qualities of light” and that’s what Christmas is to me. Those little moments that make life just a little more bearable and enable us to trudge on.

Plus it’s the one time of year you’re allowed to hang shiny shiny lights everywhere.

When you feel good, you make others feel good. You give a smile and a “Hi” to the cashier at Rite Aide as opposed to a curt nod. She is nicer to the cranky old man behind you who in turn is actually a tad kind to the next person he comes across.

That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.



P.S......

Did you know that “We need a little Christmas” is from musical “Mame”? I always thought it was in an animated Christmas special.

"Momentary qualities of light" is the title I have chosen for my great Amercian novel, or at least a short story that the "New Yorker" will publish...whenever I get around to writing it.) ☺