Happy Winter Solstice!

Maybe it’s just that, out here in the Valley of the Sun, you get so used to the days being long and god-awful hot, or perhaps it’s just the fact that I’m spending more and more of my days working from the house instead of commuting (more on that in another post), but this is the first year I’ve been here that I’ve really noticed how short the days are this time of year. Back in Massachusetts, when my travels to and from either my condo in Dracut or, later on, my apartment in Milford, it wasn’t hard to notice since all the commutes home (an hour each way) from Burlington this time of year were done in darkness, and you’d feel as if all you did was wake up, go to work, go home, and go to sleep.

Here in AZ, I notice the dark days more in the morning than at night, as, even though I’m up and around by 6:30 AM, the sun isn’t showing up in our yard until nearly an hour later. The occupants in the computer room could care less what the time is – they just know it’s dawn and time to eat.

The other thing I’ve noticed about these dark days is that a lot, and I mean A LOT, of people have really gone the whole nine yards when it comes to Christmas light displays this year. You know what that means – regardless of what the Democrats and their cohorts in the alarmist mainstream dino-media say, the economy is going great guns. I call it the ‘house lights syndrome’: the more lights and festive displays on peoples’ houses, the more optimistic they are about their situations and – more importantly – their economic futures. My guess is this will be a pretty damned good year for retailers – especially the online kind. Nice to see all the lights aglow when the nights seem so long.

Yes, we’re in the dark days, and it won’t be until the end of January that you’ll be able to tell that the days are starting to get longer. By that time Rob and his Saints will be getting ready for their Super Bowl appearance (BTW, get well soon, Rob – sounds like you got what I had!), and some of us Goodboys will be looking forward to our annual Vegas pilgrimage. Until then, I’m just glad I’m alive and able to see and appreciate the differences brought about by the shortening of the days during this holiday season.