And to all a good night.... it is an oft too repeated truism that this Season and it's Spirit can create quite the opposite feelings in a lot of people. I look on Christmas in much the same way I did as a child, which is to say I hold it in my heart the way I did as a child. As for the present, to echo Christopher's lament, it can become way too blue and far too stressed out. In my case that's partly because I cannot completely recapture the innocence of Christmas Past. I still love to sing carols, and I get misty eyed at the strangest times, but I live alone and do not put up a tree because that would only emphasize the point that the family always decorated the tree together and I don't need yet another reminder that I will be spending this time of togetherness alone. Maybe the blues Chris was speaking of had nothing to do with Christmas (he did say they were for no particular reason), but Jeneane echoed similar thoughts and so have many others in my circle of friends. It is indeed ironic that I feel blue when I still feel that this is a season of great emotional depth, good tidings and joy.

And by the way, Jeneane, I do think the silence was accidental... a mere reflection of the ebb and flow of the life tides of it's members.

And Chris, I did read some of EGR and the Topica Archives (and wrote my own review of Gonzo with a bit of counterpoint to the item you mentioned). There is so much there to read and my time is not always my own, but it's good to know the archives are there whenever I do get a few minutes to do as I please.

So I hope your blues are a shade you can deal with. Put some Blues CDs on the changer and listen. The Blues are a tonic for being in a Blue Mood! Just lay back and listen to a great player bending those notes like the world tries to bend us. The notes always resolve and so mostly do our lives.

Good Cheer to all....