A Seasonal Reminder. . .

Since we are now firmly into the annual depths of the so called season of giving, it's important to remember a couple of points impressed on yours truly during my formative years by now late parents and maternal grandparents.

One, if you are invited to a holiday party or open house -- assuming you choose to throw continued social distancing and caution completely to the wind in late 2020 -- do not show up empty handed. Too many do now. . . typically along with extras in tow whose names were not included on the invitation. Show a token bit of appreciation and respect for Pete's sake. At the very least, bring a bottle or two of wine, or a seasonal flower arrangement as a host or hostess gift if someone has been kind enough to include you on the guest list.

Two, put a little planning and forethought into whatever gift(s) you might purchase for your spouse, partner, significant other, boyfriend, girlfriend, main squeeze, or whatever the preferred term is in 2020. Nothing is tackier than a last minute, cheap, jokey gift that screams to the world how little thought or effort you put into the gift given to the, presumably, most important person in you life. Can you say Big Mouth Billy the Singing Bass? Google it.

Snuggies, fifty cent mugs from a remainder table somewhere, and the like are at about the same level of taste and planning. Now, I hardly suggest you go into debt or overspend to the point of awkwardness on holiday gifts, but come on. Equally uncomfortable would be something over the top, for example a $5k engagement ring when she has no idea the two of you are really that serious. We all know a guy who has done something similar.

Instead, put some genuine thought into what you might give to people this and every holiday season. Birthdays too. What are they like? What has been their experience thus far in life? What are their hopes and dreams? What are their interests away from work? You get the idea. Sure, it's the thought that counts, to fall back on that particular platitude for a moment. But too often, I notice that that thought seems to be the one thing absent from the equation of holiday gift-giving. And that is something that even a big ticket item cannot hide. Or it shouldn't.

My advice? Keep your wits about you when it comes to purchasing gifts for those special to you this and every holiday season. Demonstrate a wee bit of sophistication and avoid leaving your shopping, online or otherwise, until the last possible minute. You do not want to send the wrong message in an exceedingly clumsy fashion when it comes to gifts. Especially for that special someone. Often, it is the smallest, more subtle items can be the most special and meaningful gifts.

And if money is scarce, a card will always suffice as my maternal grandmother advised a time or two during my childhood.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Up North Style. . .

Bad Dad makes a friend. YMP and Bad Dad on the shores of Lake Michigan. Or was that Crystal Lake? The Grand Duchess takes a selfie in her kayak. How NOT to impress the girls sunning themselves along the river. YMP and Bad Dad kayaking on the Platte River headed toward Loon Lake. J ust back from a week in Northern Michigan in a charming and spacious house on the banks of the Betsie River outside of Thompsonville. A largely pleasant seven days despite some challenging episodes with the Young Master, who has picked up some very questionable habits and language from his friends in the 8th Grade during the school year just ended. But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves and contemplated remaining for a few days longer since the house was available. In the end, we decided to return home as planned originally since neither my wife, nor I wanted to spend the remaining days chained to our computers in Zoom meetings from our vacation destination. I actually managed to leave the laptop and ip

Mid-June Thursday Style. . .

A nother pretty typical variation on the theme for late spring, summer, and very early fall. I'm a huge fan of Madras and have several such shirts in the seasonal rotation. Lightweight, exceedingly comfortable, and even dressy when pressed and tucked in, which is the usual way of things here at Totleigh in the Wold. Now, if I had my druthers, I'd still rather be skiing the trails in the upper half of "The Mitten" (of Michigan), in the Upper Peninsula, or Ontario. But summers ain't so bad either, and I'd look pretty funny walking around in cross-country ski attire during June. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh. Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan. Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt. Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode. However, I was not completely useless yesterday! I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch. The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings, took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific. I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age. As it is, my sister and

CharlottesvilleDecember 8, 2020 at 6:48 AM
All excellent advice, Heinz-Ulrich. Now, what to get my wife for Christmas ... .
AnonymousDecember 17, 2020 at 8:13 AM
Gosh, I just love your writing. As the recipient of those cheap, jokey gifts from an adult child for more years than I care to think about, my only dilemma now is how to "thoughtfully" say thanks but no thanks.

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