While the lead up to Christmas can be a somewhat hectic and semi-crazy time, the day itself and this time afterwards has a way of bringing out the best in family and friends even when dealing with the loss of a loved one.
This past Thursday, the day after having hurdled Christmas and all of its churn, Buzzy’s Country Store hosted several folks who were out and about and just happened to drop in the Store for a post-Christmas visit.
In addition to my “Everydayers” (the folks who stop by Buzzy’s several times each week) Thursday saw several visitors in the store who made it an even more fun and partying kind of day than it usually is on any given day.
As for the passing of a loved one, I am referring here to Leo Carroll and how several of his friends dropped into Buzzy’s Thursday to drink a couple of Miller Lites in his memory and honor. As for Leo’s friends, we were very blessed to have known such a nice and gentle soul as Leo. We were all made a little bit better for having known him and having him as a friend. I will miss him and his daily visits to Buzzy’s. His last FB post:
Barbara Stanley posted this great photo that she took of Leo when we were celebrating his birthday at Buzzy’s:
Post-Christmas Thursday at Buzzy’s was made extra special for me when my sisters Donna and Lila dropped in for an extended visit. Here is a photo Cousin Clyde took of the 3 of us behind the counter:
It was a special visit for a number of reasons. Love it how Christmas has a way of bringing families and friends closer together than they ever were.
But then, I had even more relatives drop in for a Buzzy visit as Nancy (Balta) Ridgell and her son Jeff and his family stopped in. (Jeff currently resides in Chicago and was here visiting his Mom for Christmas.) Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to visit and talk with them as much as I wanted to. When I spied them heading out the front door I tracked them down to apologize for not being more hospitable. There was a photo taken of us out on the front porch that I will track down and include later.
My Glen Mary friend Mary Amons and some members of her family also stopped in for a Thursday visit and to purchase several Buzzy hats.
Mary’s son Cameron (I only show half of him here him in the photo) manages a club in New York city and wears his Buzzy’s hat when working there. He was on a mission to purchase several more Buzzy hats and have his other staff members wear them. He said it’s always cool when someone visiting the club notices the hat and says “I know Buzzy’s! I’ve been there.” This prompted Mary to suggest to me that I should use that as my store motto “Buzzy’s – if you know, you know!”
Mike Guy and his daughter Erin dropped in to Buzzy’s to wish Mike’s brother Pat a belated Merry Christmas. (They knew where to find him.) Pat told me afterwards that Erin, who is a senior at St. Mary’s College, commented how much she enjoyed visiting Buzzy’s and said “All this time I’ve been going to the Green Door when I could have been going to Buzzy’s.” I asked Pat if he had told Erin that unlike the Green Door, Buzzy’s closes at 9 p.m. which is usually about the time that college kids begin to go out.
I guess that the correct song to play here is “Twelve Days of Christmas” in honor of Christmas Day marking the official beginning of the “Christmas Season.” However, aside from the fact that I don’t particularly care for that tune (way too repetitive for me) I promised you the other day that “Santa Claus is Coming to Leonardtown” would be the last Christmas tune of this go round.
Thus, with Sunday being a church kinda day, let’s go in the opposite direction and do something totally inappropriate with this DBT tune titled “Heathens.” It features an extended conversation where our anti-hero is trying to explain just why his van is stuck in a ditch after a night of partying. Stay to the final verse (3:15) where he comes full circle from the first verse to this conclusion:
“These times can take their toll sometimes, and I know you feel the same way too. It just gets so hard to keep between the ditches when the roads wind the way they do.” If you know about that dynamic, then you know, right?