nothen 4 christmas

Tonight I had another one of my great flashbacks from my childhood. The memory was triggered from a story my fiancée was telling me about how she was letting people get to her, or "get her goat" as she described it. She said it happened even though she knew that it should not be.
She is the eldest child and I am the youngest.

It always happened the day before and on Christmas Eve but mostly on Christmas Eve. I was four, five, and six years old. My two eldest brothers, Jeff and Eric were high school teenagers. The talk of presents would begin, and then the torment. Jeff would start, "Hey Eric, what do you think Jerrod is getting for Christmas?" Eric would say in his serious voice, "I don't think he is getting anything, he has been bad." And then the duet would begin, "Jerrod ain't getting nothin for Christmas, cause he ain't been nothin but bad." My tantrum would start and cause the singing to get louder and more sarcastic. I would cry, scream, and then attack my two loving brothers. They would laugh, stiff arm me, and sing more. Eventually mom would come to my rescue. I am sure she would reassure me that I was getting presents, and scold my older brothers for taunting me……Ah those were the days.

What's fun these days is that my three oldest brothers all have kids, lots of kids. The paybacks sure are fun!

A Popular Show

After the secret was out and the big moment had come and gone, the producers let me talk. I called everyone I know. My brothers, my best friends, my good friends, my old friends, my barber, my real estate agent, etc. etc. I think you get the picture. I had just proposed on National Television and I wanted everyone to know.

The surprise came from the folks I did not tell, the folks that ended up calling me or recognizing me and wishing me congratulations. Back at school on Tuesday I was walking the halls of the Seaton Center. A guy from an old handball class said, "Hey, congratulations man. I saw you on Ellen." He said he told his roommate that he had handball with that guy. I remember thinking, "Wow, I can't imagine this guy watching Ellen”.

I had a couple of other run-ins like the one above. The most notable came from Terrance. I know Terrance from the Kinesiology Club. So it is Wednesday and I am in the Johnson Center (I have to stay lean for all of my new found fans). Terrance walks up to me and says, "Congratulations, I saw you on Ellen!" Now this guy is the last person I would expect to be an Ellen fan. Terrance is black, six foot six, works in a gym, is a tremendous basketballer, and I think you got the idea. So, I could not help but say, "You watch the Ellen Show?" Not that there is anything wrong with that, I had after all just proposed on the show and just curious. Terrance's response was hilarious. He said, "Well, I was just home flipping through the channels, and I saw you." Sure Terrance. You are probably in the same category as my mother, FANATIC. You not only watch it everyday, you tape it. Why? Just in case someone calls while you are watching it. Or in case it is especially good, you feel compelled to show it to your family and friends.

I wonder what Terrance likes best about the show? The dancing? The positive energy? Ellen's quick wit? The giant purse? I will never know, but I do now understand that it is a very popular show.