It's a cold and wintry night at the end of a difficult week.
Someone, either pastor dan or Raybin or Plutonium Page, will be along shortly with a "What's Your Fucking Problem" diary to allow us to vent.
I want to do something different. I want to hear your happy stories.
(with poll)
I'll share one from a cold and wintry night long ago. It's not a big moment from life like the wedding day or the birth of the children. It's just a small moment of happiness.
I was living in Hagerstown, Md. in an old mansion that had been converted into apartments. I had the entire top floor. It was a lovely place with a grand view and hardwood floors and high ceilings and steam radiators that actually worked -- unlike some apartments I had lived in.
A heavy snow was falling and the county was shut down. Thick flakes fell steadily.
I made lasagna with my own sauce in the tiny kitchen about the size of a galley on a small yacht.
The kitchen smelled of garlic and onions and tomato sauce and melted cheese. A handful of friends walked down the block and shook off the snow and came up the winding staircase to my top floor. One woman brought the James Bond movies.
We ate dinner by candlelight with the outside light on at the balcony so we could watch the snow falling. I opened a bottle of wine and pured. We had Thunderball in the VCR for when we finished the lasagna, which came out perfect and I was proud of my cooking. Life was good. It was a moment of complete happiness.
I raised my glass to my friends with the toast, "There are people in heaven looking down on us tonight in envy" and we clinked our glasses.
...
It's going to be a long four years. We must not give into darkness and despair.
Please share your happy stories, big or small.