12/24/2021

December 24th, 2021.

And again, my old friend, the blank page.

So, here I sit, Tennessee. It is cold, but not that cold. It looks like it’s going to rain, but it won’t. And I don’t think we’ll get a white Christmas like we did last year. (Even made a very small snowman!) However, it has been raining all week in California! (Can you believe it?) Roswell and Morticia are probably sitting at the window watching the rain. Or maybe watching the bear that has been tearing up our trash! (Not sure what to do about that one!)

Once again, we have gathered with family, still 4 generations strong. Not as many as we had planned because, well, COVID. We have several in quarantine as a precaution, so we are having raclette together in different locations by Zoom. The eldest, in generation 1, has a bit of bronchitis, and is being treated by the doctor in generation 3. We will both be testing ourselves when we return to California, hoping for the best. And there are masks everywhere.

Looking back over 2021, COVID has been the defining factor. This year we’ve gotten vaccines, treatments, home tests, home treatments, newer vaccines, boosters, results of larger studies, new variants, new vaccines, and more misinformation than any one of us could possibly wade through. And there’s no end in sight. We’ve had Delta, and now we have Omicron. And what’s next?

And we keep on. Alison does her shows on the internet, her readings on Facebook, and the occasional live show with proof of vaccination and masking. And I just keep going to work, fully vaccinated and masked, meetings on zoom, some working from home, while the construction at the airport goes on.

And we watch the world around us. People beating up flight attendants for, well, no reason. Kids taking guns to school to shoot at their classmates for, again, no reason. Politicians taking bribes, mothers giving bribes to get their kids into schools, people stealing money from charities, the list goes on. Some of us taking every precaution available, and others not caring who gets infected, even themselves. It’s enough to make you want to give up.

But we can’t. I take heart in the little gestures all around us. The child that holds the door for the elderly woman, and then helps with her packages. The strangers from around the world who log in to the Go Fund Me campaign, and contribute what they can to people they never hope to meet, just because the help is needed. The people who spend their time, risk their lives even, to help stranded and abused animals, to offer a better quality of life, for all life, all around us.

So, as we go into 2022, let’s all make a pact, that we will each do something every day to make the world a better place. We can volunteer our time, donate money, give food to food banks, give toys to toy drives, clothing to thrift stores, there are so many ways to help. And do it all with a background of being kind and considerate to one another. Putting our Prairie Values to the test once again, proving again that we are all in this together, and can do a much better job of getting along than we are currently doing.

So, once again, from Alison, Bob and all of us at Loose Gravel Productions, (especially Secret Agent Sock Monkey!!) to all Bonnetheads everywhere, and to all of their friends, may the spirit of Christmas carry us through to the next Christmas, and the next.

Let the spirit of the season prevail, and spread all the love and joy that is missing the rest of the year to each and every one of you.

There you have it, Merry Christmas Bonnetheads!!

• Bob

Nellie Olesen played by Alison Arngrim, contrary to the bitch she plays on “Little House On The Prairie,” is one of the nicest, sweetest, and most charming celebrities I’ve ever met! Subscribe to her Newsletter to see what she’s been up to lately.