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Sometimes It’s Hard To Come Up With a Title For These Things.

Hey, so do you think that it confuses our pets that we look different every day? I mean, we change our clothes, our appearance, daily. On purpose. They gotta think that’s weird, right?

I’m sure it’s weird enough to them that we put on our outside feet whenever we leave the house. It’s probably even weirder that we put on new fur. They just have nothing to compare it to.

Well, unless you’re one of those people who like to dress up your pets. I was going to say “dog” there, but I’ve seen people dress up cats too. How they do it without getting their eyeballs scratched out is beyond me, but they succeed.

Anyway, if you dress your pets, I suppose those particular ones have some frame of reference. Although it’s still gotta be weird for them because they don’t like being dressed up.

That’s right. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the animals you are putting into those adorable little sweaters or holiday-themed whatevers aren’t particularly happy about being dressed that way. Even if they wag their tail when the hat goes on. Even if they bring you their sweater in the morning.

They. Do. Not. Like. It.

They like you. They want to make you happy, so they put up with it in order to please their owners and be told how good they are, get some head scritches, and maybe a treat. That’s it.

So if they don’t like getting dressed up themselves, it must confuse them as to why we want to do it. After all, they walk around naked all the time.

Which is one of the great things about pets-dogs in particular. They just spend all their time naked and have no shame. No embarrassment, no body issues, nothing. They are who (and what) they are. What you see is what you get. Dressing a bulldog up like the Easter Bunny won’t change a thing. Animals are 100% pure and 100% free.

Maybe there’s a lesson for us here. We should all live our lives as freely as our pets. Just maybe not naked.

We shouldn’t be dressing up in order to please others or to keep up with the status quo. Just be yourself. Okay, so maybe your job requires a uniform or has a dress code. That’s fine, follow it. Don’t get fired. You will find yourself with a whole lotta freedom all of a sudden-and not in a fun way.

Look, all I’m saying is that we could all benefit from worrying a little bit less about what others think of us and living as our true, authentic selves. Now, that doesn’t give us an excuse to be rude, to be mean, condescending, or to take advantage of others. Kindness and civility should still win out. But if we all live as our purely and honestly as we can, then maybe we can find a little more happiness.

And if you do find some “happy” spread it around. We could all use some.

See you next time, MonDavers. Until then, remember you’re the bestest-yes you are, yes you are, who’s the best? You are.

Sorry. Got a little carried away there.

Um, bye.

Annual St. Patrick’s Day Post 2025

Well, here we are in March. Spring will be here before you know it. First though, comes one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day. Therefore, it’s time again for the traditional St. Paddy’s Day post. This being MonDaves, there can be no better way to usher in the holiday than by sharing some of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day Dad jokes!

You asked for it, and I’m happy to oblige! Well, actually, no one asked for it and I’m pretty much doing this out of obligation, but here we are. Let’s make the most of it and have a little fun anyway. Ah sure, it’ll be grand.

Leprechaun jokes:

-What do you call a leprechaun who recycles? A wee-cycler.

-What do you call a leprechaun who goes to jail? A lepre-con.

-What do you get when you cross a leprechaun with a yellow vegetable? Lepre-corn.

-Why did the leprechaun put his money in a blender? He wanted to make liquid gold.

-What happens if a leprechaun falls into the ocean? He gets wet. Duh.

-Why do leprechauns prefer dancing to running? They’d rather jig than jog.

-What do you call a frog who jumps into a pot of gold? A leap-rechaun.

-What do you call a leprechaun prank? A saint pat-trick.

-How did the leprechaun get to the moon? In a sham-rocket.

FYI-I’m calling dibs on the name Sham-rocket for if I ever start an Irish covers/punk band.

-What does a leprechaun have for lunch? A ba-larney sandwich.

-Why did the leprechaun go outside? To sit on his Paddy-o.

St. Patrick’s Day jokes:

-What do you call an Irish spider? Paddy long legs.

-When is an Irish Potato not an Irish Potato? When it’s a French Fry.

-How can you tell if an Irishman’s having a good time? He’s Dublin over with laughter.

-What instrument does a show-off play on St. Patricks’ Day? The brag-pipes.

-Why don’t you iron four leaf clovers? Because you don’t want to press your luck.

-What do Irishmen say when you tell them Bono is your favorite singer? You too?

-How do you pay for soft drinks on St. Patrick’s Day? With soda bread.

-What’s big and purple and lies next to Ireland? Grape Britain.

-How did the Irish Jig get started? Too much beer, not enough restrooms.

And finally,

-Why did St. Patrick drive all the snakes out of Ireland? Because it was too far to walk.

Alright MonDavers, there’s your post. I think it was good for at least one chuckle, and probably several groans. You’ll probably tell at least one, though.

Anyway, now that that’s clover, sorry, I mean over, all that’s left to say is have a safe and Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all that celebrate. I’ll be back soon with more nonsense. See you then!

Happy (?) 2025

Well, here we are. The calendar has turned another page-or your device updated itself, whatever you’ve got happening, and 2025 is upon us. As usual, there are many who are excited about the new year and/or really happy to see the past one go.

Not me.

I am heading into 2025 with much apprehension. While every year has its ups and downs, some have more potential for greatness or disaster. This one has already had its share of the latter.

Everything kinda sucks right now. Look around at what’s happening. Be it the national stage or the world at large, pretty much everything has become a dumpster fire.

As a nation, we are more divided than at any time since the 1960s. Frustratingly, we’re mostly arguing over the same stuff as we did back then. War. Human rights. Sexism. Racism. It’s the SAME STUFF, people. Let’s face it, as much as we tend to view the past with rose colored glasses, the late ’60s were pretty ugly. And we are reliving them. Just with better clothes and crappier music.

I have heard quite a few people talking of unity for our country in the past few weeks. That’s a beautiful thought, and I’d love to join in on it. Except for the fact that most of the politicians, radio hosts, and “celebrities ” I’ve heard preaching unity were preaching vile, hateful, divisive rhetoric just a few months ago. Miss me with that. Come back when you mean it.

As for the wars brewing around the world, there are, of course, two major ones going on. One is so complex and terrible that anyone picking a side is alienating a large number of people, many of whom they know personally.

The other is a case of big country invading a small country, and we can not even agree on which side the USA should be helping. This is partially due to potential global consequences but has much more to do with which political party you favor, where the money is (which is all wars come to think of it), and people believing what they are told to believe by the loudest talking heads. Which is the new American way, no doubt.

As a Christian and a Pacifist, I have no choice but to condemn all wars, no matter the reason for the conflict. I read something about “thou shalt not kill” back in Sunday school. Seemed fairly important. But hey, what do I know? ‘Murica, right?

Okay, that got a little off track. Sorry/not sorry. Anyway, when the state of the country and world at large gets me down, I try to look for good in what is around me, in my own little bubble as they say. There are some good things going on, yeah.

But.

So far in 2025, I have attended a funeral, and someone else I know passed that same morning.

We’ve also just come through Snowpocalypse 2025. We got 12.5 inches from Saturday night through Monday morning. While that may be business as usual for some areas of the country, here it’s a lot. The storm shut down the city, and I have shoveled and salted my drive several times in the last 48 hours.

I hate snow. And cold. The temperature is not supposed to be above freezing for the next week, so there will be very little melting of the snow that I hate. I don’t like driving in snow, looking at snow, walking in snow, or anything. Even as a kid, I didn’t join in the neighborhood snowball fights or building snow forts or snowmen or anything of the sort. I did go sledding a few times and enjoyed that somewhat, but the unpleasantness of temperature and snow in my boots and britches outweighed the momentary fun of skidding down a hill.

So the snow is here, and I’m stuck with it for a while, with more to possibly come this weekend. I find the whole snow thing depressing to deal with, and it makes me cranky. Not that you can tell, of course.

To top it all off, I have seen many people on social media circulating a meme that says the following: If you choose not to find the joy in snow, you will have less joy in life, but the same amount of snow”.

Yeah, well, the same can be said of farts. If you don’t find farts funny, you will have less humor and the same amount of farts.

So we can more or less dismiss that argument right?

Alright, I know, I’m rambling. Normally, these posts are a little more light-hearted or positive or goofy or whatever. Sometimes, though, I get to vent. Maybe that’s selfish. Maybe it’s the opposite of why you read these things.

Or maybe it helps you realize that you’re not alone, and that makes you feel a little better, and it turns out to not be such a negative thing after all.

Well, what do you know? That MonDave magic strikes again!

Thanks for indulging me, MonDavers. I’ll be back with more of the normal fare soon. Promise.

See you next time.

Christmas 2024

It’s been a few weeks, apologies to all.

Normally I do multiple Christmas/holiday related posts during the month of December, but this year I jut didn’t have it in me. I touched on this last time, how I was having trouble getting into the spirit of things this year. Some years the Christmas Spirit is upon me right around mid October, sometimes it takes a little longer. Some years I’m full of it. Many would say I’m always full of it, but they usually mean something else.

Then there are years when the spirit is a little more elusive, and I have only a little bit to share. This is rare for me, but it happens sometimes. This is one of those years, but it almost wasn’t.

I’ve been working on getting my Christmas spirit going, and it was beginning to work. I began enjoying the old songs again, and discovering some new ones. The old reliable films and tv shows began to work their familiar magic, and the Advent services at church were making their way into my being too. It was a slow process, but I was getting there.

Then, last week, I got the sad news that a friend and co-worker (whom I have known for the better part of 20 years) lost her life in a terrible car accident. Right before Christmas. I am heartbroken for her family, friends, children, and all who have been impacted by her presence. I know many of these people, and I can’t imagine the depths of what they are going through. For them, this will not be a joyous Christmas holiday. It’s affected mine as well. It’s going to be tough for a lot of people.

Yet, it’s still Christmas. I still believe in it. I believe in the hope of the Christmas story. I believe in the togetherness Christmas brings-even in our lowest points. Even when there are less filled seats around the dinner table, we can still surround ourselves with those we love, and we are not alone. Sure, Christmas can make us sad, but it can also help heal us. In the depths of our despair there is hope. There is love. There is light. These are the things that Christmas is made of.

I believe in this to my core. I believe that the day will work its magic (at least some of it) for me this week, and it is my genuine hope that it does the same for all of you. It may take a bit of work, but Christmas, and its glorious promises, are there if you look for them.

So look for them. Embrace them. My Christmas wish is that we all feel the beauty of Christmas-even if it’s only a little bit. As Pete Townshend once sang, sometimes a little is enough.

Merry Christmas to you, MonDavers, and many more.

The Season’s Upon Us

It’s the Holiday Season!

So whoop-de-doo…and flippity-flop…and don’t forget to put on your socks.

Or, you know, something like that.

Yep, it’s that time of year again folks. Anyone who knows me even a little knows that Christmas is my favorite holiday. Most years I am in the spirit well before Thanksgiving, and I have been known to sing Christmas songs and watch Christmas specials on and off throughout the year because it makes me happy. Most years are like that.

But not this one. Not yet.

Sure, we put up the decorations, both inside and out. The tree is lit up. I even got a new standing Santa gnome decoration whom I have dubbed “Santa Gnomi”, which is a joke for like three people, one of whom has already heard it. I have started incorporating Christmas music into my daily commute. I’ve started buying gifts and have already knocked a few things off my annual Christmas Watch List.

I’m just not there yet. I’m trying to be. I’m working on it. I’m just not feeling that Christmas Spirit yet.

But you know what? That’s okay. There’s a lot going on right now. Apart from the dumpster fire that is the political arena right now (both foreign and domestic), I’ve just got a lot going on right now personally. It’s getting super busy at work right now, so that adds a little bit of stress to the day. Then on the physical side, I did something to my neck/shoulder area early last week-I don’t think it’s serious but I tweaked a muscle, or pinched a nerve, or I don’t know what. This is one of those nagging injuries where I didn’t know I did it at the time. It hasn’t slowed me down a whole lot, but trust me, it’s there. It’s all right though, I’ve got my Advil and heating pads on stand-by.

I’m also just feeling overwhelmed in general. It’s not any one thing, just a general feeling of slight panic. Okay, not panic, maybe, but…franticness? Is that a word? Yeah? Cool. Anyway, apart from an increased work load, there are multiple events I need to attend, some involving the kids, others social engagements I have to keep. With Thanksgiving being as late as it can possibly be this year, it gives us less time to participate in the Christmas season, so there seems to be more pressure to get all the gifts bought and do all the things. Which is not what this holiday is about, of course, but it’s an unavoidable part of the whole thing nonetheless.

That’s probably where my problem comes from. I don’t feel I have the time to enjoy the season, and when I do get some time I am neither physically or mentally in a state to relax and be in the moment.

But again, it’s okay. Not every holiday has to be the Norman Rockwell, picture perfect dream we all have in our heads. It’s okay to be a little stressed, and a little run down. It’s okay to be overwhelmed by everything we have going on, holiday related or not. I’m not sure how this works for you, but I have to be okay with where I am and how I feel in the now before I can get over the hump and feel better later.

Speaking of you, how are you? Is everything going hunky-dory into the holiday? Is this shaping up to be a great one? Or are you overwhelmed and struggling? Maybe you’re trying to get in the spirit like me, or maybe this is your least favorite time of year and you just want it all to be over with. However you’re feeling, it’s absolutely valid. Feel what you need to, and let’s come out the other side together, stronger, and with a little more self acceptance and peace.

Christmas is coming, fam, ready or not. So let’s all take a deep breath…and let it. It may feel rushed, but there’s still a few weeks left before the big day. Perhaps if we’re mindful of the good stuff, if we are honest with ourselves and those around us, and if we stop trying to force the season and just let it happen…well, we just might get a Merry Christmas after all.

I’m confident that I’ll get to that place yet this year where Merry Christmas is not just a saying but a feeling, a wish, and a state of being. I hope you do too.

Oh, and if you celebrate a different holiday, then I hope that’s great for you as well, whatever it is you celebrate.

Unless you celebrate Yak Shaving Day. Stop it. Y’all are weird.

Hang in there, MonDavers. See you next time.