Out and About – Week of December 27th

Christmas 2021 is now in the history books. The Christmas season is probably the nicest of all the seasons. It seems that everyone is nicer to be around, unless you happen to be in one of the department stores, where everyone has their eyes on that one special gift and everybody wants it. Kudos to those sales clerks and cashiers. Angel wings are waiting for you for having to deal with those customers who brought plenty of cash with them, but left their patience and manners at home.

Christmas for me was better than I deserved. I feel extremely blessed. The happiest part of this past week was realizing that the days are getting longer once again. Oh, we still have just twenty-four hours in every day, but the hours of daylight are finally getting longer again.

Now is a good time to stock up on Christmas decorations and gift wrapping for next year. Those prices are now lower and merchants would rather get rid of them before inventory time.

In case you haven’t noticed, if you want to see J.J. “Jimmy” Walker on television, you’ll have to seek out re-runs of “Good Times”. The same can be said of Joe Namath and all the others who reminded us hundreds of times a day about Medicare renewals. Fear not, they’ll all be back next October.

We in St. Joe County have been lucky so far, when it comes to snow blizzards. I would like to personally thank those counties along the shoreline of Lake Michigan for being brave enough to take the brunt of the nasty weather. I’m sure we’ll get our share before spring. I apologize to you folks who wanted a white Christmas, and enjoy snow-skiing.

This weekend we welcome in a new year. 2022 promises to be a better year in many ways. Many of you will celebrate New Years with family and friends. Most of you will celebrate responsibly, and some of you might throw all your cares to the wind and over celebrate. You folks are lucky, because you have part of the weekend to get over a possible hangover. Here are some hints on how to treat a hangover:

Consume more water. Alcohol is a diuretic, so you become dehydrated if you drink too much. Drinking lots of water before you fall asleep will replenish the lost fluids in your body.
Fresh air. Twenty minutes of deep-breathing oxygen can do wonders. That’s why some people find aerobic exercise provides hangover relief.
Drink coffee. Caffeine constricts the arteries dilated by alcohol and may relieve your headache.
Vitamin C supplements or a couple spoonfuls of honey can help your body eliminate the alcohol more quickly.
Recent studies have shown that people who experience hangovers after occasional drinking sprees are less likely to become problem drinkers than those who can drink with few aftereffects.

I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. May 2022 be a year filled with peace and love.

“Your razor floats thru the hair with the greatest of ease.” – BURMA SHAVE

See you all Out and About next year!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman