Hellidays - When Bad Holidays Happen To Good People

This story was told to me by a friend.

My friend had a classic upper-middle class American upbringing, complete with a large, stately home in an affluent suburb. A permanent fixture in the home was their dog, "bandit." Bandit was a mutt, and was older than most of the kids on the block, but beloved by all.

Thanksgiving was the largest holiday in this particular household. It was the day that all the aunts and uncles, cousins and respective significant others converged to engage in a feast only rivaled by that seen on "The Grinch."

The long Chippendale-esque dining table was fully set, and bulged with nearly 20 guests seated. Still, there was more than enough room for the lady of the house to glide around the table to serve... read more

The Weiner Circle is a Chicago institution located on the west side of the street at Clark & Wrightwood. It is kind of ramshackle and aged, and appears to have been overlooked by the Food & Health inspectors. What the place lacks in cleanliness it makes up for with attitude. The women who man the grill and condiments behind the counter are typically sassy, trash-talking black sistahs who don't need any of your lip.

Particularly on the weekends, around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., the place fills with drunken Lincoln Park frat boys who are opting for a final dose of carb 'n' cheese loading to soak up that evenings kegger or $2 Bud Lights. This is when the Weiner Circle turns into a circus of confrontation and rude behavior.

When you throw in a... read more

My family and I were Christmas Eve shopping at a department store in Stockton, California. I was about 10 years old and I wanted to buy a Tootsie Roll bank for my cousin. I went into a one checkout lane to buy her gift while my family was in another lane.

All of a sudden, we heard loud sounds, like fire crackers. I didn’t really know what was going on. Next thing we knew, one of the clerks is yelling numbers for the cashiers to put in (I guess to lock the registers) then people are screaming and running around. I was really freaked out, as I was not near my family at this point. I was crawling around people who were on the floor as I looked for my family. It was total chaos, with everyone screaming in terror.

Finally after what see... read more

My birthday is four days after Christmas, December 29th.  To a kid that is real tough, you get kind of ripped off, if you know what I mean. Your presents are either small or combined. You never get a birthday party. But one year, when I was about 10, my mother decided I would have my birthday party on Christmas.

Both of my Grammys and Grampys were there and actually getting along, my mom and dad were looking at each other lovingly for once and my brothers had even gotten me a gift. I was so happy!!


Until I got to Grandma Adella's gift. My Grandma Adella, she was a nice old lady. But the cheapest person you ever did meet. She always would buy these real cheap things and try to pass them off as being real. Like real cheap jewelry a... read more

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