Hellidays - When Bad Holidays Happen To Good People

The year 2000 had been a year of a seemingly constant string of bad luck. Someone pointed out that bad things tend to happen in threes. I concluded that if bad things happened in threes, I had almost undergone three sets of three bad things. Almost. The year was coming to an end and I considered that perhaps I would get through the year without achieving that third negative event that would complete the third set of three. I was wrong.

I have Multiple Sclerosis that had recently begun to slowly progress. One treatment for what is called Secondary Progressive MS is Chemotherapy. I was given my first infusion of Chemo on December 22, 2000.

On Christmas Eve, I was scheduled to fly home to spend Christmas with my family. My travel... read more

I was dating a guy who I basically knew was a scoundrel. I asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he said an electric fish scaler. He was an avid fisherman so I figured this was a necessary accessory. I searched high and low for one and finally located it at a bait and tackle store. (this was pre-internet). It was expensive at the time ,$100. He came over a couple of days before Christmas and I surprised him with the gift. He opened it and started laughing and said, "I was just kidding."