I got, I kid you not, a Festivus card in the mail the other day. A thoughtful reader sent me a Festivus card and a thoughtful (and greatly appreciated) gift. Darn nice of him, if you ask me.

What does Zero want for Christmas?

Well, ammo anyway.

Actually, precious metals (of which ammo would count) make awesome gifts. I genuinely don’t have much I could ask for for Christmas. I did splurge and get myself another lovely Filson garment as an early Festivus gift to myself. I like their products, their style, and quality….hate the price. But..buy once, cry once.

However, were Santa to ask me if there were any preparedness related items he could have his non-union labor force whip up for me…..well…I wouldnt mind a nice ICOM transceiver with power supply and antennae, some more NATO gas cans, another EU2000, and that sort of thing. While I’m something of a sentimental fool, I have trouble with the notion of Santa encouraging children to believe that they can get toys simply because ‘they deserve them’. It seems like it would foster an attitude of entitlement. Still, not as bad as Halloween…where children are encouraged to put on disguises, head to wealthier neighborhoods, and demand treats under penalty of tricks. All thats missing from that picture is a ‘no justice no peace’ sign.

But…not everyone sees it that way.

Happy Thanksgiving, boys. Sometimes life is a swirling cesspool of despair from which no ray of hope can ever escape. (Or as I call it, “Lifes default setting”) But no matter how craptacular it is, it could often be worse. So, sure, take a moment to be grateful for what you have. But also be grateful to yourself for getting you there.  You overcame that crappy obstacle. You put yourself on the right track. You did the hard work. You made the tough choices. You fought the battles. You made the sacrifices. Sure, you may have had advice, help, and direction from others, but in the final analysis it was you who got you where you are now…good or bad. Own it. If you’re hitting bottom, slap yourself in the face a few times, grit your teeth, cowboy the F up, and do what needs to be done. If you’ve recovered from hitting bottom and are on your way to being a baller, keep your foot on the gas, amigo.

But take today to recognize what you’ve done and what still needs to be done. Then pig out, sleep it off, and get back to the plan.

To me, Independence Day is mandatory go-practice-with-guns day. Also a good day to bone up on your history and political theory. I think that Independence Day is the second most political holiday after Election Day (which, I suppose, isn’t actually a holiday.)

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; if you don’t take it out and use it, it’s going to rust.

And so it ends….not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Although it impacted me far less than many people, it was still a long year. To my uninformed, cynical mind 2021 portends worse.

The polite and socially-acceptable thing for me to do is to wish all of you a happy New Year and wish you good luck for 2021. I say ‘screw that’. Luck is for rabbits. If you’re reading this then you’ve the mind to be the one who makes your own luck. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Well, I’m not really a Christmas kinda guy..what with being a nonbeliever an all, but I recognize that a lot of folks get into the holiday so I’ll go ahead and cover my bases and wish everyone a merry Chrismahanukwanzika.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank a couple people who sent me Amazon gift cards as Christmas presents .Very thoughtful, guys…thank you very much.

2020 goes into the history books in another week and then we face 2021 with all of the unknowns arrayed before us. It should be an extremely interesting year.

BUT…thats a week away. In the meantime, have a nice holiday and let me know if you got any cool gifties.

Hit it, Placido….

The holiday season approaches. Whats on my list for Christmahanukwanzakah? Not much, actually. Oh, sure, a Barrett will always be on the list but other than that….I think I’m set.

Usually I give out 10/22 mags as gifts since I got into them so cheaply but, unfortunately, the Current Situation has me thinking that I’m better off holding onto them since in about two years they’ll be worth at least $50 each (give or take the $200 tax stamp).

Tell you what, doing holiday shopping for anyone who is into guns must be quite a challenge right now since virtually anything gun related is outta stock at most stores. On the other hand, give someone a 20-rd box of Winchester white box .223 and it’d be almost like handing out crisp $50 bills.

What are you asking Santa/Hanukah Harry/Voodoo Man for this year?

I’ll just go with a repost:

Today is Thanksgiving, which is, nominally, a day to give thanks. For me its a day to eat turkey. My life is a swirling dumpster fire of rage and pain, so I tend to not be thankful as much as I am vengeful. Nonetheless, I realize I’m in the minority on that sort of thing…so, for those of you who engage in the Norman-Rockwell-esque version of Thanksgiving, I say ‘enjoy’.

Following the holiday are the Black Friday Friday Of Color sales. I cannot imagine any vendor needs a holiday sale to get product moving in this Current Situation. Why would you mark your guns and ammo down for a holiday sale when you can double the price and have it fly out the door seven days a week? Still, I’ll go through the motions anyway because I’m always looking for a deal. Lemme know if you guys find any good deals that are actually in stock.