Rant #1,094: Just About Over

Well, I'm back ...

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. I did.

And if you are Jewish, I hope that your Hanukkah has been a good one. Mine has been good, and incredibly, it is five nights into it, with just three more to go.

And if you are my father, I hope you had a nice 82nd birthday. I think you did, and I hope that you have at least another 82 more.

It was a hectic time in our household, with so much going on, but we ate our turkey, just about all of our gifts are exchanged, my dad is now 82 plus a couple of days, and we are now into December, as hard as that is to believe.

There were some negative things that happened during the past couple of days. It wasn't all fun and hilarity for me.

First off, right before the holiday, my eye doctor died. He was just 44 and reportedly had cancer.

This was the guy that saved my left eye a few years ago. Along with the diagnosis of my regular eye doctor, this guy did the procedure that saved the vision in my eye, and actually made it better.

I was eternally grateful for his ability and skill in doing what he did, and I was shocked by his passing, especially at such an early age.

Next, just prior to the holiday, my friend's father passed away. He was in his 90s and had been in poor health for years.

Nonetheless, it was a shock that he died. He seemed to have some inner resolve that kept him hanging on for years past his due date, so to speak.

He was a nice guy, always treated me with respect, and was a good dad to my friend and his sister. I hadn't seen him in a few years, but I am sure he is in a better place now.

And not to liken this situation to theirs other than the use of a similar word of description, the Knicks are dead. Dead as can be.

They have now lost nine straight, show little or no signs of getting back to respectability, and are the biggest disappointment in the NBA right now.

They have gone from contenders to pretenders in the span of a month, and that is something that is very difficult to do, but they have done it.

Other than those instances, it was a good holiday, good to get away from work, good to be home with my family.

And no, my wife's side of the family has not sent us a Hanukkah card. We will probably get the same "Season's Greetings" card that we always get from them, which, if course, is a veiled Christmas card, and since both Hanukkah and Christmas are separated by so many days this year, the "Season's Greetings" card means absolutely nothing to myself and my family.

But what else is new? It's that way each and every year, and it evidently is going to be the same way this year.

Not much changes from year to year anyway, does it?.

Now, it is back to work, back to the same old same old until later this month, when Christmas dawns.

I am looking forward to that day, simply because I get another two days off at that time, and it will be time for this Jew and his family to do what Jews and their families do on that holiday: go the the movies and have Chinese food.

Sometimes it is nice being on the outside looking in after all.