Merry Christmas From Bucca

   Steve frequently finds himself rambling on in a stream-of-consciousness style (and occasionally in the third person, apparently). Whilst it may seem to be the aimless meanderings of an over-taxed mind, if you stick with it for a while, a couple of things might happen:

#1 You might find yourself amused.

#2 He occasionally makes a point.

Holidays in Bucca . . . .

   There are a few ways to think about this topic (all are almost equally depressing). It seems like life here is on "Hold." It's almost like someone paused the movie of my life to go mow the lawn. Oddly enough, everyone else in it is still moving around. Time here has less meaning, and the calendar is simply an obscure connection to a world in which things change depending on the day and it's important to keep track of what day it is. Fall came and went, and I didn't even notice. Suddenly, it was Thanksgiving, and now Christmas. I know that these things are going on, but there's no real connection. I'll come home in the Spring and try to start living again, and I'm sure I'll wonder what happened to 6mos of my life . . . .

   Someone once asked me if they have the Fourth of July in Britain. The obvious answer to anyone even remotely familiar with history would be, "No." This is, of course, preposterous. They absolutely have the fourth of July in Britain. It comes right after the third - only it seems to pass with little to no fanfare.

   Are there Holidays in Bucca? Of course. We had Thanksgiving. I cancelled the OR - no elective cases. There was an enormous spread in the DFAC including most all Thanksgiving favorites plus some interesting additions - lobster tail? For all of the hype surrounding that fourth Thursday in November and the importance of togetherness that Families throughout the United States assign it, it was little more than another day in Bucca. The day after the fourth Wednesday. With better food.

   Surely, Christmas must demand some degree of recognition! Yes, I presume it does. There was a Christmas Eve Mass held in the Chapel which I attended. Several dozen desperate soulsc crowded into the Chapel and lifted their feeble voices up to Heaven in a meager attempt to squeeze whatever Christmas Spirit they could from the evening. In one sense, Christmas is more pure here. There really is no commercialization of the day. It is celebrated for what it is - the birth of Jesus. And, just like in Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

  It came without packages, boxes, or bags!

And he puzzled three hours 'til his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!"

   And so, it is here. Christmas in Bucca. I can't say that I've avoided the hype entirely - I do, after all, have a giant 7-ft inflatable snowman on top of my POD. And, for those who sent packages, boxes, and bags, Thank You very much! While it seems more widely recognized and embraced than Thanksgiving was, it has yet to be more than another day in Bucca. Oddly enough, it's the fourth Thursday in December. While the above might seem like mature insights, don't be fooled. Though I am closer to Bethlehem than I've ever been in my life, I've never felt further from Christmas.

   While the true meaning of Christmas is something more spiritual, I think most people welcome the Holiday Season as a time of gathering. With family in all four time zones, it seems the only time we're ever all together. So, to my family - Mother, Father, David, Michael, and Kim (and however many Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and other relatives are gathered), and to my wife and daughter, Merry Christmas from Bucca!

   

   Now, I'm off to have some Roast Beast.