Rawcuss Thursday to you, Blogwallowers. As you know by heart, Thursdays begin with Coffee Nation Summit, and today was no exception, nor was it particularly exceptional. Joel was busily typing a business e-mail as the scavenging coffee crows began to roost around him like fresh roadkill. Me first. Some discussion ensued about his eulogy, which I told him earlier I had cut and pasted to personalize it for his funeral.
Groggily, “I thought you said obituary.”
“Certainly not, my august friend. Well, December friend now. I don’t pretend to know the cause or time of death. That work belongs to the crooning coroner around the corner. The newspaper will publish your obit at no charge under a picture your family will provide. They have little choice. However, I prudently wrote your eulogy before it was needed. (silky soft salesman voice) Think of it as a reverse mortgage plan that frees you to enjoy life now on your terms, knowing that an essential final need has been taken care of, so that your loved ones don’t have to face that awkward question: ‘Whazzznext?”
“Do I have to pay you now?” he inquired with hesitance in his voice.
“Of course. I don’t want to trouble your bereaved survivors with pecuniary matters when you can relieve them of that burden by paying me now.”
“Hmmmph.” Joel knew this game of verbal dodge ball was over. There was only one of him and twenty six of me, and my team had the balls.
“Well I suppose, um, I could, uh… well, look who’s here!”
Rob joined us in his sleepwalking fugue state of new fatherhood, a defenseless uncaffeinated putty puppy. He vainly attempted to make sanity chicken salad out of insane chicken poop. We weren’t havin’ none of it, nosirree!!
Steve needed to do real business with Joel and proceeded to spell his name, “Steve with a V dot com.”
Rob, “Why do some folks spell Steven with ph? What’s with that?”
“At one thyme that was how Jewish Stevens distinguished themselves from Christian Stephens. They made a Vulcan V like Spock did. It was sign language for ‘I’m Jewish Steve.'”
“Really? I never knew that.”
“You still don’t. I am encouraging you to google it and find out for yourself, Rob. Man up.”
“Oh man, why not just trust you? Wait, that’s stupid, but I don’t have time to research it. You make things hard on no thinking Thursdays.”
“It’s tough love, Rob. You’ll need to tone up as your baby boy grows. Consider this DAD CAMP for wusses.”
Next Doug shared family drama with the group as well as several well timed puns. “Joel, estate planning is a dying business.”
Steve gave us a glimpse at managing elderly parents and his obsession with Christmas lights. He’s the kind of guy who will find the bad bulb and replace it, no matter the time or cost. He and Doug shared esoteric bits of insider information on Christmas light repair [and changing diapers. “You never fan the naked baby or it will pee on you.”]
“They’re $3.98 for 150 feet at Lowe’s, for God’s sake. Just buy a new string.”
Doug continued the Christmas light repair lecture as sleep deprived Rob fought for consciousness. “You’re killin’ me. Just go to Lowe’s and get a set!!”
“See when the bulb filament burns out, there’s this connecting wire that burns out with it and then runs the current around the burned out bulb, so that the other bulbs glow just a little brighter since 110 watts are being divided by fewer bulbs. And this will go on until a tipping point where nothing will light up no matter what.”
“Christmas light Armageddon.”
“Go to Lowe’s and get two sets!! I’ll buy them. For the love of the Baby Jesus in the Manger, Stop with the lights stories!!”
“Look, Rob. You don’t have to be cranky with us. We didn’t get jiggy with your wife forty one weeks ago. That was you, Buddy. Look at me and mind meld along!”
I placed two empty 12 ounce coffee cups with white lids over my eyes like Mr. Magoo spectacles. “Listen, Blister Butt. And repeat after me,
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
Candles in the window
Carols at the spinet…. Everybody sing it…”
“That’s not doing it for me, Supreme Commander. I need real eye contact.”
I moved the cups down to bouncing breast level and gave him the next verse,
” Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
It hasn’t snowed a single flurry
But Santa, dear, we’re in a hurry”
“That is truly disturbing. Why not put that in the blog?”
“Okay.”
“I never read it. Why don’t you put me in it and then I’ll read that post, but you have to tell the truth.”
“Done.”
“I used to read it and then I’d feel like I wasted good productive time, so I’d rush off to do something I could feel good about, something with purpose to assuage my guilt.”
“Hey, I take that as high praise. You see, I am providing a much needed service that propels others to lead more upright, productive lives. After wandering in the black hole of Burritospecial, sojourners rush headlong toward sanity and meaning. They go out and lead lives of consequence. It’s just reverse psychology, Rob. The more unglued I am, the more you want to get your poop in a pile and glue yourself into top shape. You feel angrily invigorated to conquer your deficiencies.”
“That is truly brilliant.”
“Yup, like Christmas lights at Steve’s with a V. Or Doug with a potent pun.”
“No, no, no. I need a latte to go for my wife. I’ll see you next week, fully slept up and caffeinated.”
“Good, one day, my son, you will be a real man. And always remember,
- don’t fan the baby.”
- V is for Jewish Steve.
- We all need a little Christmas.”
“Got it.”
burritospecial 
Hi Kevin – your Robbing Reality is a good read! Rob will be proud. “V”
Steve with a V, we don’t use real names in the blog world to avoid legal exposure. In fact, I don’t know who you are , Steve with a V. What are you wearing?