I detest fuss and bother, so the Christmas season can present a challenge.
This one was by the book for me. I couldn't want for the season to end, and when I was over, I kicked myself for not doing more "Christmassy" things.
There was one exception. I went to Marywood's tree lighting in early December, and I never fail to have a good time there.
Christmas fell on one of my days off, but I did drop by the office at 2 am to spend a couple of hours working on a project that needed attention.
New Year's Eve and Day were also days off. I participated in my New Year's Morning tradition of going shopping. Stores are empty, and a lot of the winter stuff goes on sale. As I always say, if you buy winter stuff on New Year's Day in Scranton, you can use it for another six months.
Unfortunately, nothing really floated my boat, but I did enjoy getting out and shopping in a quiet atmosphere.
There was something that bothered me during the holiday season.
If you talk to the hard core news types, not the "I want to be on TV" people, you will learn that many of us were attracted to the business by the desire to help people, to do some good.
Usually, every holiday season, I do a story on some charity that needs help, or some individuals who have been helped by the kindness of others. Stories like that usually spur donations. It helps me feel good about what I do, and I enjoy trying to make my tiny corner of the planet a little better. It's no one's fault, but I didn't get a chance to do any of those stories this year. It was just the luck of the draw. I was tied up on other things. Thankfully, others on the staff had the opportunities I did not.
