That was a phrase my late Father In Law Bill always said regarding what we called "The Christmas Experience". My Mother In Law Kathy (who recently passed) was what we called a "Christmaholic"; that is her holiday shopping began December 26th. If she had it her way, Christmas (notice I did not use the word holiday) music would play all year long. For one Christmas, the gift exchange went close to six hours! That included a 15 minute break for snacks and potty.
Needless to say, as joyful as it was, not even Popeye could eat enough spinach to get through it.
That's why we turned to Bill, a very wise man (as he would always say about himself). Those simple words got us through bedtime every Christmas Night,
Lately, I've been using that phrase a lot when it comes to the Political Season which ends November 6th, in particular Facebook postings.
I have many people I have "friended" since I joined Facebook a few years back. Before I continue, if any of those friends are reading this, I'm not accusing any of you of going overboard, this is just a general observation, and one I understand that's shared by MANY others.
That being said, many of my friends are Republicans, many are Democrats, there may also be the random Socialist and/or Communist as well, but I don't judge.
There are also many though, like me, who list themselves as GDI. I'll simplify it; the "I" stands for Independent, you can probably guess what the "G" and "D" stand for.
For me, it's not the party but the person. If I think a certain person can get the job done, no matter their affiliation, they get my vote. I'll even admit voting for Ross Perot at one time.
So back to Facebook postings. I'm sure if you are a member you've seen the endless pictures, postings, and rants in favorite of their candidate and against the opposition.
I do see a smattering of posts regarding local and state races, but we ALL know the focal point of the postings.
Let me state again, I welcome anyone and everyone expressing their views, it is their right after all.
But being "forced" to see it in my News Feed, especially when lots of other people are doing the same, is frankly a little tough to bear.
And it's not just me; a recent article I read in Time Magazine states the same thing, even mentioning that numerous people are getting "unfriended" from Facebook, or their posts are being edited or completely blocked until November 7th (or perhaps a few days afterward, depending on how their candidate did).
Thus why I utter those words almost daily.
One last important thing, and everyone with a passion for politics need understand this.
If I disagree with your views, don't treat me like an outcast, don't make threats, just agree to disagree. Trust me, I would never hold it against YOU.
And that's MY right!
Mike Patrick
