Notes from Steve

‘Tis the season.  I try really hard every year not to be the Scrooge in the annual seasonal overdo.  I usually fail, but this year, I’ve determined to “move beyond the emotion” and fake it.  (I think it’s because I have planned vacations out of the state of Iowa in February, and that is a beautiful thing.)

The anticipated highlight of the season is the annual East Village, Des Moines Santa Clause run (they give us Santa Clause outfits), followed by rambunctious Santas bar hopping on a late Saturday morning the second week of December.*  My band, 2nd Ave Society, will be playing all sorts of tunes appropriate for the season at the Clarion Brewery on Tuesday, December 17th, and my tree is already up.  yay.**

Ok, so this is a bit of a strange twist, but it’s been bugging me.  Someone asked me the other day if I’ve lost weight. This person sees me all the time, and I said, “No, not since you saw me two weeks ago.”  Then, I thought, maybe this person has an image of me in their head that’s always fat.  ?  I don’t know, but I’m concerned this may be the case.  I guess my point is - people have a picture of us, where they grew up, themselves, and pretty much everything in their life that is run through their filter and appears to them as they choose to see it.  Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to impress others, they’ll see it the same way they always have.  I’m not saying don’t try, but don’t be surprised if they don’t notice. And with that - Merry Christmas! (for the next month)

*I was in Manhattan in December of 2019 - “This last Saturday was also Santa-con in all of Manhattan, where about 100,000 people dressed as Santa and drank alcohol for about 16 hours straight.  Nothing says Christmas joy like seeing a bunch of drunk and belligerent Santas slugging it out on Broadway.  Go, baby Jesus!!!” Needless to say, I’m very excited.

**We’re also caroling in the hallways - look for updates on that from Micki Disney