Barry's Life in Napa Blog

So here we are again. It's Thanksgiving Day, which means the Christmas decorations have been up for about a month now and I am already tired of hearing Christmas songs at the Starbuck's. And it means within about 6 hours I will once again have that feeling that my ribs are about to crack as my stomach expands like a competitive speed-eater - that feeling I have vowed so many times to never experience again. But thank God, we humans have a short memory! In just 364 short days we can completely suppress the memory of the anguish and do it all over again.  So right away on this thankful day, there's something to be thankful for - short memory.  A list seems to be in order. It's a good day for taking stock. Here, in no particular order, are ten things for which I am thankful. Gas under $2 a gallon. I don't care if this is the result of a worldwide financial catastrophe, it's helping my bottom line. Indulging in rampant personal self interest. See #1 above.  Pinot N...

There's something sad about the fact that I can't actually believe we have elected a black man President. And it's even more sad to realize that I am surprised that no one has taken a shot at him yet. (We interrupt this message to clarify that sentence one above does not indicate that I think there is anything wrong with a black man being President, or that I don't like black people, or that people ought to shoot at them, or anything like that, ok? Let me also clarify that I prefer the word "black" to "African American" because it's a lot easier to type. Let's move on.) It's all sad because my disbelief says that in my heart of hearts I must be believing we are a more racist and hateful people than we really are - and since I am a generally positive person, and out loud I say I believe that people are innately good, it disturbs me that this other cynical, snide part of me thinks so poorly of American society. It's dark in the corners ...