#157 The new notebook

I bought myself a new coffee-time notebook yesterday--a purple Miquel Rius (made in Spain) with about 5 sections tinted various colors. My other one, started in Oct. 2002, was all filled up and I was writing in the margins and on the index pages. I thought I could make it to the new year, but there were no clean spots left. I had it divided into 4 sections by general topics that interest me, but after about half a year, was writing everywhere.

Sometimes I start an essay, or a poem, and finish it at home. Mostly I jot down things I see in the papers (WSJ, USA Today, Columbus Dispatch) that I find interesting, and know I would forget by the time I drive home (1.5 miles).

Today I saw 55 shopping bags and boxes at Panera's ready for Christmas parties. The young assistant manager told me she had come in at 2:30 a.m. So I'll probably write something about that--like how the low carbohydrate fad is put aside for the holidays, but jotted it down in my new notebook to percolate for awhile.

The new notebook, pt. 2

Before I put the old one away, I looked for the careful list I made Friday about church events listed in the paper for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I was short on space and couldn't find it any where. Found a few notes about cat shows I didn't attend; a recipe for German apple cake I never made; a partial sentence about the Obetz zucchinifest law suit; a statistic from Ricoh, "up to 60% of white-collar time is spent managing documents" and my note wondering about the source of that statistic; numerous URLs to check at a future date, like www.dinkytown.net--which I never checked. No list of Christmas programs.

So here it is in a nut-shell. I found brass ensembles, magnificent choirs, live nativity scenes, traditional, informal and rock special music, old fashioned hymn sings, a Latin mass service, a 1928 prayer book service, special family services, and communion at midnight.

But I also found three different churches offering free meals and fellowship, open to anyone who wanted to come. From the names and locations, I think they are African American churches. I think they've got the Christmas spirit.