The celebration of the start of the Christmas season in Silverton was a huge success, especially for the kids. They were jumping, shouting, some tugging at their mothers’ arms waiting for the switch to be flipped, promising everything their hearts wished for … Santa’s arrival and the lighting of the city park Christmas tree.
Thanks to the fire department folks for the use of their brightly lit truck. The truck made me think of the old lady who called the fire department:
“Help, my house is on fire!”
The fireman asked “How do we get there?”
The old lady: “What, don’t you have those big red trucks anymore?”
Many thanks to the Silverton Chamber of Commerce for organizing the tree lighting, the performers who added to the festivities, the Our Town crew for the hot cocoa, the Silverton Community Seventh Day Adventist Church group for the tasty free cookies, and the kids selling mistletoe as a fundraiser for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and all the people bundled in holiday hats and warm coats who turned out, braved the cold, and celebrated the start of the season together. Warmed an ol’ curmudgeon’s heart. To top it off, it was First Friday! Awesome!
I remember when I was a young man one of my favorite comic strips in the Sunday paper was Dick Tracy, the famous detective. One character was Vitamin Flintheart. Vitamin was a dapper old man in a gray business suit with a white shirt open at the neck and an impressive looking head of hair. He made a frequent appearance flipping vitamins into his mouth.
Well, at the age of 95, pardon me, 95 1/2, people frequently ask me how I manage to look so much younger. I’m going to let you in on my secret. Every morning for over 20 years I pour half a glass of low fat milk into my handheld blender, add a half of a banana, and a measure of Slim Fast (I prefer the strawberry-flavored) a little Metamucil and then add one each of vitamins C, E, and B12, plus a couple of multi-vitamins just in case I missed one. I grind it up thoroughly and drink. Now, in the event I have run out of milk, I substitute fruit juice. If I run out of banana I substitute another fruit. If I run out of a vitamin I don’t panic, I just add it next time after a trip to the store. Ah! A cool, refreshing, flavorful drink to start the day
It is certainly not the only way you can get enough nourishment to get you through the day, but you may want to give it a try. If you try it, tell the Ol’ Curmudgeon how you like it. I plan on being around for a few more years.
