Ten pounds of bacon, Revel-ation and a Great Party

This morning my wife and I went to the local homeless shelter and cooked 150 eggs, ten pounds of bacon and countless pancakes for homeless families. She arranged for about 20 of her junior high students to act as wait persons, and they wore adorable reindeer antlers while they took orders and brought plates of steaming breakfast to hungry diners. Afterward, a very anorexic looking Santa (Santarexic?) who was also in the junior high class, delivered an enormous number of presents to the children in the room, and tears were plentiful as gift paper was eliminated and toys revealed to thrilled children. My wife, who organized this event, is a truly astounding person and I am very grateful to be in her life. She is determined to make a difference in her own little corner of the world, and does not permit or allow sloth, excuses, illness or any other obstacle to prohibit or slow down the work that needs doing.  She gave her students a much greater gift this morning than the ones the kids gave out -- she showed them that giving of oneself is a vastly more rewarding experience than getting an item on a wish list. It's a gift they will have with them in their hearts for the rest of their lives. And hopefully, they will teach other children similar lessons as they get older. 

Oh, by the way, I apparently have appendicitis, according to my physician. It's in the early stages, and he wants me to wait and see if I get more pain in my side, fever and vomiting, in which case I need to rush myself into the emergency room for a procedure. Meanwhile, I wait for all this to come on. Oh goodie. 

After the cooking, we met my brother Steve and his partner Melissa in downtown Martinez, to transfer some stuff from my car to his, had a nice chat, and then headed to Oakland for our annual trek to the Christmas Revels. This is another tradition for which I have to thank my wife. It's how she and her kids have beckoned in the Christmas season for years, and it is a delight. This  year, the theme was old England, and plenty of comedy and ancient music filled the hall all afternoon. There are parts that get slow, and some that don't quite work as well as others, but overall this is a great production, featuring adults and children, and the remarkable Geoff Hoyle, who oversees it, deserves major kudos, and ho ho ho's. 

After that is the annual party at Scott and Katy Williams' house in Martinez. Scott is the reason Carol began going to the Revels in the first place. He's a force of nature. One of the nicest, most intense, smart and energetic fellows you could hope to meet. And he cooks like a pro. His post-Revels party always includes blintzes, ham, and other goodies, and other folks bring dishes as well. It's quite a bash, and this year Scott and I, being old radicals, were once again celebrating the fact that we have a fellow named President Obama. It's hard for either of us to keep from crying tears of joy at the mention of the name. We're both adjusting to the very new reality of being proud of our country, proud to be Americans. It's a new day, and we're anxious to be part of it. Thanks for the party, as always, Scott and Katy. Sorry I left early, but I had to go home and monitor the pain in my side. If my appendix exploded, I didn't want it to be in a large, friendly gathering with great food and splendid wine. Better to be home alone on the couch with a dog, the Dish Network and carb-friendly ice cream.