Outsider

I find that with each passing year, I seem to get farther and farther away from what seems to be the U.S. societal norm.

We don't have cable or satellite television at our house. Other than football games, we very rarely watch broadcast television. We watch a lot of movies, but tend to stick to older sci-fi and horror flicks. My coworkers often converse about TV shows, and I give a lot of blank looks when they ask me about them.

This year, I've read an awful lot of the usual griping about Christmas letters. My wife compiles one each year and sends them to 10 or 15 of our friends and relatives. We genuinely enjoy receiving them from others, too. Yesterday, we got one letter from a family friend of my wife's, who got married about six months ago. She enclosed a photo of her new family. We also got one from a lady who went to high school with me who is expecting her first child in April. I don't hear from these people often, so I really like to get these updates. Where's the harm in that?

Last week, I saw an ad in the paper for someone hosting a Botox party. Kee-ripes, people. That's beyond the pale as far as I'm concerned.

And then, this morning, I read Mist1's guest post for MaidenNewYork. I. Am. Speechless.