Cornel Dirtyro

Dank u, Sinterklaasje

by digby

Being a military brat of a certain age,I spent much of my childhood in various post-war Imperial outposts, and my earliest memories come from the time we spent in Holland. I learned to speak Dutch right along with English (later forgotten unfortunately) and for quite a few years after we came back to the states my parents would pay me a dime to sing Sinterklaas, kapoentje for their friends. Via #everyoneontheinternet, this David Sedaris telling of the Dutch Christmas story is hilarious:

And yeah, the tradition of "Black Pete" is hideously racist and they should get rid of it:

[Sinterklaasje] used to be accompanied by a jester symbolising the devil. But in the mid-1800s, when the Dutch were major players in the global slave trade, this changed.

Nice.

Love one another and cherish your time together

by David Atkins

Less than 36 hours ago my beloved cockatiel Tiki suddenly passed away with almost no warning after 10 years of devoted companionship. My wife and I are committed bird people and watch them very carefully for signs of illness. So we were disturbed and surprised to see that after a normal-seeming day and evening with us, Tiki suddenly showed acute respiratory distress at around 2am. We took her to the local emergency clinic, but there was nothing they could do and directed us to a clinic with better facilities and bird specialists half an hour away. Tiki didn't make it more than ten minutes sitting in my lap as I drove before she passed. Our best guess is some sort of heart failure, but we just don't know.

I'm in shock and grief right now, happy to be with loved ones, but stunned and deeply depressed at her loss. The holidays and my life will never be the same without her.

Remember everyone: bad things can happen to cherished companions both animal and human at any time, and the end can come quite suddenly. Take precautions, make sure to enjoy your time together as much as possible, and cherish every moment you have with one another. Nothing else is more important, and that is in large part what the holidays are all about.