Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about dead letters, Xmas moods, and that song.

"Do you think we have the right to peek into personal letters of poets and writers after they are dead, even if they have indicated inside those letters that they don't want others to see them? For example, check out this letter   by Emily Dickinson."

A fine Monday to you all, festive readers! 'Tis the season and all that other happy hoo-ha . Let's see what the prompts say we should be writing about today...

I'll admit when I first read the Blog City prompt in my head I was saying something unintelligible and in a low voice, like "Yeeeeeeeee-eeeeeez" (with the corners of my mouth practically touching my ears). This is dangerous territory, in my opinion. I'm not sure what messing with the wishes of the dead gets you, but I don't think they'll be saving you a seat behind the pearly gates next to them, that's for sure. And I'm not religious or overly philosophical or anything like that, but wouldn't karma come into play if you did something like this? Yeah yeah, the temptation's so hard to resist..."They're dead anyway; what do they care?" but that's almost what I'm sayin'. You just don't want to take chances and tempt fate...there's a reason why some things, even in this information-driven era, should and almost need to remain private between certain parties. It lends itself to mystique, and besides, what fun is it knowing absolutely everything there is to know about a person of interest (unless you're a cop or a stalker)?

I don't think we have the right to disobey anyone's personal wishes, living or dead, period. No matter how much we might want to for our own personal gain (and who else would stand to profit? Not the dead person...). Sure, there might be some juicy stuff in those notes, but does it matter? Why should bringing up the past be a part of anyone's future? And not only are the subjects of these letters possibly still grieving, but now they've got to contend with inquiries regarding otherwise private details of relationships between themselves and the writers. I mean, who cares? People who get into this stuff...I'll refer you to my initial thought on this topic..."Yeeeeeeeee-eeeeeez".

"There are two types of December moods. The first type is the Joy To World mood and the second type is the Bah Hum Bug mood. Write a story, poem, or opinion piece about one or both of those moods. Use whatever point of view you feel most comfortable using. Have fun and be creative."

As much as I want to be one of those "Joy To The World" types, well, I'm not. I'm cynical, grouchy, selfish, sometimes arrogant, occasionally I have my head up my ass, and often I don't give nearly the damn I'm supposed to be giving at any particular time. "Joy" doesn't even crack the top 10 of my priorities or preferences. "Not beating the snot outta fake Santa Clauses" ranks higher than "Joy". Joy outpaces "Joy". So does "being satisfied with whatever it is for today". Why strive for joy to the entire world when it's easier (or sometimes hard enough) to just be "Whateva man" for yourself?

I've often heard it said that "it only takes one person to make a difference". Yet it takes a village to raise a child, a nation of millions to hold us back, and 50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong (Spoiler Alert: yes...yes, they all are). One person makes a difference. As tempting as it would be to make some kind of socio-political statement, especially given the current state of affairs in our great nation, I'm not gonna. Just let those words roll over your internal monologue one more time..."one person can make a difference".

I'm bah humbugging out because I don't know of anyplace where this is actually true. Not on a football team, not on the Supreme Court, not on the local or national news, and certainly nowhere in the private sector. Yeah, there's feel-good stories all over the place all the time, and there's even more that aren't publicized, but is that truly one person changing someone's life for the long haul? How is that determined? Is there a follow-up study? Where are the facts?

I could go on and on, and you and I could go back and forth all night about the good in everyone versus the status quo of the world in general. But you and I both know we have neither the time nor the patience for that. So in lieu of being a complete Debbie Downer regarding this topic, here's what you should take from this discussion ("discussion" meaning "I type and you read and then we shake hands and walk away"): don't rely on anyone else to make a difference for you in your life if you're not willing to be the person who makes a difference in your life. Plain and simple. Pass it around.

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I...I just couldn't do it. I know it's "Mariah Monday" and all (sorry Jeff ), but...I couldn't put the second-worst Christmas song ever in my blog which is attached to my good name that my friends and family read. That's, like, character assassination or something. A part of me dies inside every single time I hear this song, mainly because I know Mariah's lying to me. She doesn't want me for Christmas. Sadly, I'm starting to become ok with that . I think if you took out the cheery bells and substituted the word "Christmas" for "breakfast" and "you" for "pizza", you might have a song I could listen to. And let it be sung by some scuzzy sk8r-punk chick too, instead of Mariah Carey. Yeah. That'd rock, Beavis.

But what I can do is provide an almost-equally unlistenable version (it's so bad that I didn't even make it through the whole thing) by some death metal band I've never heard of. It's the least I can do to break up the hustling, bustling monotony of an "all Mariah, all the time Monday".

"<indistinct growling>...is you."
Lyrics.  

However, I can watch almost any Mariah Carey video with the sound off, no problem. Here's eight things you might not have known   about "All I Want For Christmas Is You", baby.

Nobody knows what the I consider to be the worst Christmas song ever? I'll reiterate my claim that if it shows up in someone's playlist I'll personally give them a WDC merit badge. Here's another hint (see Linked 'Note' no longer available.): the title has three words, and two of them are the same. No guessing please; I wanna see you embarrass yourself it in your playlist!

Whoo-hoo! I finished an entry on a Monday night just in time for the Monday Night Football kickoff! That's, like, a first. Cool. Well, enjoy the rest of your "Mariah Monday" y'all...peace, I'm just gonna keep on waiting, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!