Just checking in after a one year hiatus! I'm not ready for Christmas, and don't plan to be. I like leaving some things undone. It makes Christmas eve much more interesting and Christmas day a complete mystery. You don't know if you'll be ostracized or elevated to mythical status by virtue of your holiday indifference. Am I the pagan, or would that label more properly apply to those who celebrate with offerings, indoor trees, and mistletoe. What the hell is that about? I'm sure it's some Germanic custom; and the Germans are among the most secular people in the world these days. I'm not saying that I don't celebrate the season, but the joy I feel is mysterious even to me. I don't believe in the God of our fathers and grandfathers. My God is much older, much more akin to the mystical vision of the bishops and gnostics who came before the 4th century. That is the one who can not be defined or named. That is the one who can never be known...