The sound of the stillness

THERE IS A STILLNESS that happens the day after Christmas.

It's as if the earth takes time to pause, to slow down and remember the words, before hurrying on to the next chapter. Oh, the shoppers rush back to the malls and to the stores, in search of rebates and returns. But for those who have the good sense to stay away from all that, the reward lies in the quiet.

Even at the office today, nothing much stirred. Some woman called (yep, you guessed it, the child's mother) wanting to know when a particular school's spelling bee winner would run. Somebody else had ordered Marvin West's latest book and hadn't received it.

I typed in a few obits, made the usual rounds telling jokes and inquiring about coworkers' Christmases, then found my way to the car by 3 p.m. This was for the birds. I had a nap to take and an episode or two of M*A*S*H to watch.

Ahh, yes, Alan Alda's great gift. Four years and nearly 251 episodes after buying Season 1, I hate to see the 4077th shut its doors for the second time. (Has it really been 23 years since the last episode?) Rarely does a show surface that makes you laugh, cry and think about things --- all in 24 minutes. I'm in danger of becoming a humanist in my old age, but I love the show. Particularly the later, sentimental ones.

Tonight was Allison's lasagna and good conversation round the table. Dean says the supper table can be found in the most sociable room in the house and tonight anyway he's right. We talk movies and make fun of each other, laugh a lot and bask in the glow of each others' company. It's a good night.

Then it's on home for another quick M*A*S*H (what's this? Winchester falls in love??!!) and I doze in the chair while reading Stephen King's latest.

Well. Guess a bunch of stuff happened today after all. Who knew?

It was hard to tell over the sound of the stillness.