17 Christmas Songs For When You're Tired of Christmas Songs

I love Christmas music, and I've been having the local Christmas radio station on for much of December. However, I think the station is experiencing the same thing I am: Christmas Song Burnout. On the way to a party, Ashley and I heard Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" come on the radio. Not really a Christmas song, but hey, it's a classic. On the way back, only four hours later, "Linus and Lucy" came on again, after the third variation of "Let it Snow" that we heard that night. 

The warm, logs-by-the-fire novelty of Christmas songs mixed with overproduced Christmas carols is beginning to itch on me like an ugly sweater. Radios and mall background music can hit you with the same holly-jolly ring and Michael Buble sentiment, jading you from enjoying the holiday spirit. If you listen to only 60-70 songs, each with only a few variations (which often sound the same), for an entire month, you may end up a Scrooge. And no one wants that. 

There's three days until Christmas. The home stretch. To help you get through these last days of Christmas cheer, here's a short list of songs which don't get played enough during the season. These may includes songs you know but I think are just that good, or versions of songs that really bring you out of the Christmas slog. They also include indie kingpins and pop artists from yesteryear. If a 25-year-old Christmas song can be #1 on the billboards (All I Want For Christmas is You), then I know that people are up for recycling songs to endure the holiday.

I put the links underneath the list in case you want to listen to them write away.

Organized in a loose manner, here's the list.

17. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Bruce Springsteen

16. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

15. Merry Christmas Baby - Otis Redding

14. Just Like Christmas - Low

13. Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry

12. Christmastime is Here - Mark Kozelek  

11. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings - Barenaked Ladies/Sheryl Crow

10. What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder

9. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

8. I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun - Beach House

7/6. Happy Birthday Guadalupe!, Don't Shoot Me Santa Claus - The Killers

5. Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis - Tom Waits

4. Frosty the Snowman - Cocteau Twins

3. NSYNC - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

2/1. Did I Make you Cry on Christmas? (well, you deserved it), Joy to the World - Sufjan Stevens

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Bruce Springsteen

If you can play a Christmas song live, in July, with the crowd going wild, I'd say you've got a winner. This gets airtime, but it definitely doesn't get enough attention amidst all the other jingles that smother the radio.

Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

A freaking fun song. This is what an affordable shopping spree sounds like--lots of dancing, celebratory solos. And the song plows through the year to get to Christmas. Just like us. I promise there will be less saxophones as the list continues.

Otis Redding - Merry Christmas Baby

The soul-side of the holiday season. It's an Otis Redding song about Christmas. You can use it as another excuse to get into your Motown mood. Please excuse the third consecutive song in a row featuring a saxophone

Just Like Christmas - Low

It's the Christmas ditty about Scandinavia you never realized you wanted. Probably one of the most honest, homely songs in this list, it's a refresher that people make artistic songs about Christmas, and that sometimes the holiday revolves around your life instead of vice versa.

Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry

This is probably the most mainstream song on the list, but just jam out, Go for it. One of the funnest songs you'll hear any time of the year.

Christmastime is Here - Mark Kozelek

Leave to the human embodiment of Charlie Brown to turn the Peanuts classic into a somber, pensive experience. There's some self-demurring humor and a beautiful guitar riff, and you can't deny that you connect with his melancholy.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings - Barenaked Ladies feat. Sheryl Crow

Did you ever think you'd be tapping your toe to this mashup of carols? Thanks to a jazzy bass and fluttery vocals, this is just what you need to step away from the traditional production and enjoy a lovely song.

10. What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder

This is built upon the same foundation as Otis Redding's song: It's a Stevie Wonder song about Christmas. It's going to have a bunch of energy and make you dance in the car. And, it has the trademark harmonica solo. Listen to it more.

9. Wonderful Christmastime - 

Okay, Another mainstream Christmas song. But it sees Christmas time much differently than what we're used to in Christmas tunes. "Christmastime" ornaments are disco balls and brings out the silly sentimentality of traditions. Paul + Synthesizer = Fun!

8. I Do Not Care For the Winter Sun - Beach House

"Happy Holidays, we wrote a song for you, thanks for the great year!
Love,
Beach House" - December 16, 2010, on their Facebook page
...I could give you a lot of reasons to listen to this song, but that suffices.
7/6. Don't Shoot Me Santa, Happy Birthday Guadalupe - The Killers




"Don't Shoot me Santa" is a great song, coupled with a hilarious video, but "Happy Birthday Guadalupe" really shines as a song. It also completely breaks through the normal instrumentation of Christmas songs, taking you through the Arizona desert with a Mariachi band. Both songs incredibly fun.






















5. Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis - Tom Waits

Very Tom Waits-ian. Adds "Hooker" in the title but ends up writing a warm, tender song. Tom Waits utilizes the universality of Christmas to look a piece of humanity that so often gets overlooked, even by themselves.

4. Frosty the Snowman - Cocteau Twins

"Frosty the Snowman" has to be one of the most annoying songs ever made, in my perspective. Why the Cocteau Twins decided to make this into a dream-pop throw down is beyond my understanding, but I'm very grateful

3. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - NSYNC

This video is an American treasure. Young JT joins up with the other dudes of NSYNC and Gary Coleman (Gary Coleman sighting!!) to make a kind-of politically correct Christmas song! Will this ever get old?

2/1. Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day (well, you deserved it), Joy to the World - Sufjan Stevens

Picking two songs from an artist who has made almost five hours of Christmas music is daunting, but these are two songs stand out. "Did I Make You Cry" completely reverses what we understand about a Christmas Song, and Steven's version of "Joy to the World" is the most praising and heartfelt that I've ever heard. Perfect to jolt you out of the non-stop Christmas music world.

Friends Once Lost, Are Friends Again?

By Buckets Hall

Infinite apparitions from the past swarmed me, each awaking a separate, transcendent sentience.

People I saw and talked with the first week of the semester

January 5-9, 2018
Maya. A young woman from one of my mission areas. Anastasia. Childhood friend. Used to have sleepovers at her grandma's house. Alex. Ate at his apartment almost daily my freshman year. Garrett. Went to a scout camp together when we were twelve. Miraculously still looks twelve. Hayden. My mission trainer.

Actually, Hayden was the first person I saw on campus. Messy hair tousled by bitter wind. wrinkled pants clutched his slim thighs. A massive grin spilled over flushed cheeks. The needling cold numbed me, but the warm, sweet essence of our relationship pierced through the frost. 

Missionary trainers can potentially change your life, and Hayden did not waste his opportunity. As a collar-choked, nervous 18 year-old, thousands of miles and two years away from my family, Hayden closely resembled a mother hen coddling a frightened chick during a thunderstorm. He taught me what missionaries are and are not. Missionaries are instigators. They are not afraid of calling people. They are extroverts, not avoiding. Humility and Happiness 101.

That was almost three years ago. But this blustery Monday morning, I could see no difference. I bolted to him, nearly decking him off his penny board and onto the frozen ground.

In the Book of Mormon, there's a well taught story of a man named Alma who reunites with some old friends after a 14-year hiatus. He was elated, calling them "brothers in Christ." I was experiencing Alma's joy. Both of us captured the pure reunion with old friends--a holy serendipity. Alma and I shared a glance that Emmanuel Levinas describes eloquently.

"To approach the Other in conversation is to welcome his expression, in which at each instant he overflows the idea a thought would carry away from it. It is therefore to receive from the Other beyond the capacity of the I, which means exactly: to have the idea of infinity."

I was surrounded by heavenly Others. Infinite apparitions from the past swarmed me, each awaking a separate, transcendent sentience. These encounters were bronzed statues. Inexplicable. Overwhelming. Permanent. 

People I saw and avoided this last week

October 28 - November 1, 2019
Sarah. Went on some dates with her. Painful conversations. Professor Scott. Had his class a year ago. Had a question, but forgot. Some dude from World Religions, long ago. Always wears business casual. Athena. Current classmate. We walk past each other in the same corridor twice a week at 2:55. Hayden. My mission trainer.

Only 10 feet away. Same hair. And pants. His smile was exchanged for an unwelcoming grimace. Rushed steps whisked him through the courtyard. 
I cannot decide between saying hello and checking my phone. Contorted, dismantled thoughts. My jaw sags agape, waiting for a command. I eject a ramshackle "hey..." into the stony air.
He walks away, unfazed. Relief and regret, two unlikely friends, begin homemaking in the pit of my stomach.

They are everywhere. ghostly specters. I want to drop my backpack and say "CAN'T YOU SEE YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE?" As they impassively float by. Something has changed, but what exactly? My bonds to old friends and acquaintances feel more like bondage. In its twisted way, Time has spewed corroded patina onto my memories like never before. Before, they were heavenly personages. Now, these cretins silently wail their siren songs as I reel through campus, haunting me with jilted taunts. "Remember me? Do you care? Do I care?" And guilt, ever present, bruises my circumventing heels. 

I have immense difficulty feeling the joy Alma had, and Levinas embraced. I don't discover infinity in the Other's eyes now; I confront an awkward conversation. Unneeded minutes spent on conjuring emotions. Betrayal and helplessness pierce me, like a magician discovering he is a charlatan. These relationships are no longer golden shrines preserved in my memory's memorial. There is no spark of eternal light in their doleful countenances.

When did I learn of awkwardness? Perhaps seeing old friends has become a glorified name game, scraping the dregs of discarded knowledge, done solely to reinforce how small the world is. Sometimes I wonder if I have too many relationships, and now I must dispose of expired ones from the fridge. Or maybe too many of these unexpected engagements have been met by disengaged faces, too bothered to ignite old flames.

For some time I have seen my old friends disintegrate to stoic ghosts. I have grappled with the distance between I and the Other. 10 feet becomes light-years when the timing fails me. "Sorry, can't talk. I'm supposed to see you in class, not the library." "Excuse me, I'm buying cookies from the vending machine. You aren't supposed to glance over here." My life appears too burdensome for memories now. They are a hulking filing cabinet. An outdated accessory, too heavy to move. Negligence appears more comfortable.

But one moment keeps the hope for joyous reunions on life support. Five minutes which jolted everything.

People I saw and talked with while I was late to class

March 23, 2018
Ashley. Sang in a choir together. Competitive dancer. Went to the Missionary Training Center at the same time.

The somber March sun threw flecks of light from behind the cloud cover. Spindly legs launched me through the courtyard. Hopelessly tardy. Head down. Rushed steps,

"Richard!" From nowhere, a small, bundled woman blocks my path. Caked in spray tan, A bronze aura emanates from her. I can hardly recognize her.

This is Ashley. We strike a conversation. I walk with her. She smiles. I do too. We meet up weeks later. Date. Marry. We smile some more.

A coincidental run-in with an old friend altered my life's trajectory beyond belief. Because Ashley, a friend who once sat in mundane mission classes with me, had courage which I lacked--looked up instead of down--we took cheesy couple photos together instead of seeing each other's on Facebook.

The glimmer of light we saw in each other that brisk spring morning, sometimes it is replicated in other old friends. And while I enjoy the invisible wall that separates me from them, I cannot always avoid these apparitions. They look too much like angels. 

People I saw and made myself talk with last week

October 28 - November 1, 2019
Kami. Served in the mission as me. Not Facebook friends. Devon. Worked with him as an intramural referee. Great future car salesman. Jessica. In a current class. Spent most of the time figuring out who I was. Smiled in the end. Professor Boston. Refuses to call me Buckets. Knows me as "The student not named Buckets." Hayden. My mission trainer.

The Books I've Read This Year So Far, Ranked.

This year I have read more books than any year in my life--and it's only August! Between winter semester and the summer, I have started and ended 20 different stories (all but one for the first time), and I feel like they deserve some reflection before I hop into next semester. And what better way for a sports junkie to express his feelings than through a rankings system!
I'll get this right out there--ranking books is frivolous. There is no way you can quantify books by pleasure. I liked and disliked something from every book I read. Additionally, these books span a vast array of genres, some that were never meant to be compared. Imagine trying to see what household appliance makes the best pet. Books weren't made to be ranked.
But I would go with a microwave. Much lower maintenance than a sink, and it needs less exercise than the fridge, which never stops running.
However, there's a lot of joy to be found in organizing my emotions and pondering on which books I perceive as great. Sometimes you feel like there is a very loud, rambling figure that is trying to tell you to rediscover greatness, which makes you wonder in the first place, what is greatness? This was a fun exercise to reveal what I appreciate while participating in a broad spectrum of books.

So this exercise proves to be simultaneously pointless and fulfilling. Sort of like winning a video game, or burning leaves under a microscope. As the ranker, there was one critical rule I made myself follow: no religious books or texts included. While I am having fun crossing boundaries, this remains untouchable. It feels wrong to quantify a text I actually believe matters. And there is a rule that I advise the reader to follow: This list is not definite. It's a thought experiment provokes John Keating and oozes subjectivity. But hey, this is the internet, and you clicked on this link. So compliment, fire back, suggest new reads, but this is all really meant to introduce/reintroduce books you may have closed the case on.

So here they are, ranked 20 to 1 that also fits into a more inclusive tier system.

TIER 1: THE NEVER AGAIN'S
These books just didn't do it for me, and I don't think they ever will.

20. The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane (summer reading)
I knew I shouldn't have read this. The other Stephen Crane story I read wasn't my favorite, and the mundane, meticulous commitment to realist description slurred an exciting story into a drag. Additionally, it's hard to connect with the main character at all. Like, he's just a punk, and not symbolic enough to overcome his flaws. The brights spots in Badge were few and between for me.










19. The Firm, by John Grisham (The Law in Literature class)
iPlacing a Grisham novel ths low definitely defies popular opinion, but I perceived a critical flaw in the book I just couldn't overcome. Mitch McDeere. Not admirable enough to be a hero, not strong enough to be an antihero, we see him slipping into a gimmicky plot that I couldn't grasp. He's the center of a story too big for him, and described too bluntly to take seriously. I found myself laughing at bad times.










18. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker (The American Novel class)
Sorry Oprah. Bizarrely beautiful and filled with illogical positivism, it's truly a good book. This gets knocked down to the bottom because of its aggressive, physical approach to problem solving made me too uneasy. It's supposed to be jarring, and Walker does not respect your inclinations for one moment. Purple's rawness and plays against tenderness overwhelmed me. Perhaps it's unconventional path to finding its soul forced me to move on from it.









TIER 2. THE SLOW BURNS
While I would reread and recommend these books, they were kind of... a struggle to finish.

17. The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner (The American Novel class)
I enjoy Faulkner, so for this to be 17, you should recognize I really like most of the novels. Heck, I even said nice things about a book I never want to read again. With Faulkner, the strength and weakness of his books is his character building. Truly marvelous creations, but a thick, heady read. Moving from narrations from an autistic adult, a tormented college freshman, and a petty sexist is just hard to do. Overall fascinating, but a burden to get through.
P.S. there's a film adaptation with James Franco in it. The movie looks awful, but the trailer looks hilarious.









16. A Civil Action, by Jonathan Harr (The Law in Literature Class)
A completely true story about a lawsuit on two fortune 500 companies, this book is complex and stressful. Harr excellently describes how one real life horror story morphed into another one, and has the records to prove it. This may have struck a chord with my anxieties over finances, as Jan Schlichtmann almost spent himself to death. At times, Harr focuses too much on semantics and run dry, even for someone interested in law. But, they got John Travolta to be in the movie, so it's got that going for it.









15. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway (personal reading)

This may come as a surprise to some, because Hemingway is one of my favorite authors. I loved the writing style, the relationships, the tension in the book, but in the end, did anything happen? Three guys go to Spain with a floozy and they all end up screwed (and not in the good way). Like, is this an Ashton Kutcher/Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson movie? The plot is lame. You can't deny it. But I will hedge and say this is one of Hemingway's less-lauded books, and he still can write.









TIER 3: THE GOOD READS
These books read quickly, and though I won't rave about them, they were well crafted

14. Recursion, by Blake Crouch (suggested by Ashley)

A science fiction thriller that really stretches your intellect, Crouch relentlessly plugs his tragic, world ending theory at you until you feel like there is no hope (spoiler: there is hope), all while he gently reminds that the more important theme is simpler and purer. I read all 500 pages in under three days, and that includes taking a break. A very addicting book.





13. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman (The American Novel)

It's difficult to talk only about the story when there is so much to discuss about the writer and its film adaptation. I mean, Freaking Rob Reiner had to pry the screenplay from Goldman's reluctant hands. Even the story itself is about a different story that has been edited for better effect. The effect makes for a funny, postmodern icon filled with lovable characters. This book is a cult classic without its cult classic movie-ego.









12. Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor (The American Novel)
There's really only one way to describe this book: weird. And in its weirdness it sucks you in. Who in the world are these characters? Where are they? What type of world are they in? It's a modern fairy tale with unknown motives, all doused in obscure Christian imagery. The most helpful bit of knowledge I had while reading this book was that O'Connor was a Catholic woman in the Deep South. All sorts of weird can happen when looking at the world through that lens.









TIER 4: THE OH MY'S
Books that surprised me with their power and touched me on a special level. 

11. 1984, by George Orwell (recommended by Ashley)

About 70 pages in, I realized I was mad at this book because of how realistic it was. Of course, the motives for Big Brother and the party members are completely different than most people's, but this book is surprisingly human. I'm not going to lie, I read this book on 100% adrenaline, and it contains a heart-wrenching finish. But I will credit Orwell with his writing prowess, to spin a sci-fi story into a reality, and to constantly fool the writer.










10. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (summer reading)

The anti-text of 1984, Tuesdays with Morrie grounds itself in a reality that one wishes they could achieve. I feel that this story would best flourish in the 90s era, but it has a sentimental message that can still be felt to this day. I think the best part of this book derives from the non-novelist author. It allows the reader to cross a more sincere bridge to Morrie's story. I also appreciate how he doesn't take time to moralize the story, instead relying on his experience to induce a more honest effect.

9. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (recommended by Ashley)
Another suggestion from my wife, another Crouch work. Essentially the big brother of Recursion. This book sucks you in from the start and only gets better. I read the last 70 pages in 30 minutes. Dark Matter's one-sentence paragraphs, perplexing plot and non-stop action makes this fast, enjoyable, and rewarding. Although the main character's motive (like the one in Recursion) remains altruistic almost to a flaw, Crouch uses meta-dialog to his utmost advantage, creating a humorous, preposterous, exciting novel.









8. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan (The American Novel)
Tan zones in on mother/daughter relationships so precisely that you can't help but feel like you are reading a diary. Unlike most diaries involving awkward families, the melodrama is striking and sympathetic. It was a tearjerker in the most postmodern way, dancing with form and narrative and voice. You can see it coming down harshly against men, but when you perceive in its proper place as an immigrant narrative, you'll see critiques on harmful paternalism nurtured in the Far East. Overall outstanding writing.









TIER 5: THE KEEPERS
Downright good, completely re-readable, and will reside on my coffee table for years to come.

7. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson (The Law in Literature)
If you think you are ready for this book, you are not. Shocking and captivating, Stevenson does everything in his power to pack sympathy into his work. You cannot help but become emotionally entangled by the webs of American courts and prisons. Call him crazy, but Stevenson's insanity is bringing justice against all odds, and if that's not an American story, then it's certainly a good story.










6. To Kill a Mockingbird (The American Novel AND The Law in Literature)
This is the sole book on the list I read before this year. It was also an assigned reading in two different classes. Who doesn't love this book? If you don't, you aren't American (being semi-facetious). Similar to The Princess Bride, Mockingbird has its own austere aura. The writing is gorgeous. Lee pens a friendlier, endearing Mark Twain novel. And the story will never die; its overtone is too powerful. There is negative criticism on it regarding ensconced racism and sexism, but frankly, I think that is a reductionist at work. As much as I love this book, there are five more ahead of it. I have a lot of love to give








5. The Kite Runner (Recommended by Ashley)
I understand if you are surprised. A grand narrative on a personal level with a narrator so intriguing that I wished the book lasted until his death. I admit, there is a lot of "magic" in the book, but sometimes the suspended reality works. It was also enlightening to view a culture across multiple generations, tearing down the one-sided American view of Afghanistan while building up my country's view of its villains. It was also a gift to the reader to finish the book with such concrete hope.









4. The Chosen, by Chaim Potok (The American Novel)
I didn't expect a book about a smart Jewish kid in New York City to touch me so greatly. The matrix of relationships between the two fathers and two sons is so aesthetically beautiful. Potok craftily mixes the natural tensions in Judaism into his composition, forming a segue into a culture few know or have seen. Potok finds ways to traipse in between massive tropes and confine them into a likable teenage boy. An intimate book built upon love that I will gladly read to my children until they can read it on their own.









3. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (summer reading)
I've been an English major for this long and I just not read this book. The irony of me enjoying Pride and Prejudice this much is almost too much for me to handle. I've watched movies rifting off of the plot, seen a Kera Knightly-played Elizabeth Bennet splayed on my parent's screen multiple times, heard my brother rave about it, and I never read it. I actually developed a bias against it--There's no way it is really that good. But it is. It's a satire trapped in a romance and it genuinely funny, engaging, and lovable. Yep, I was Elizabeth, and it was Mr. Darcy.









2. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (summer reading)
So yeah, this book was incredible. It's bare bones Barnes and Noble Classics page count was over 500 pages, but I never found a dry spot. Rashkolnikov is one of the most entrancing characters in literature, and the more confusing he becomes, the more you relate to him. The books "punishment" is relentless, and you feel it's heavy breath come down with a thrill that noir novelists would kill to have in their own pieces. It's a different type of terror, one that makes you tense until the very last page. If you can get past the Russian names, you will find a diamond.









1. Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak (summer reading)
Which leads me to my favorite book of the year. Yes, the Russians took silver and gold. You are allowed to see if there is an illegal doping scandal. This is a tough, intricate read that doesn't quite end with a warm fuzzy, but it is immensely rewarding. Pasternak uses his poetic background to construct a massive swath of Russian history out of intricate, delicate minuets. It's sort of like a Matryushka doll set, where one piece of art snugly fits over another, and then another, until you can't realize how many parts made the whole. It's a tantalizing work that refuses to figure out which side is up, and you have to admit that Pasternak outdid everyone. He wrote an untouchable story.

The Geriatric Community Has Had a Surprising Presence in My Life Lately

I live in a college town. It's not every day that I run into an old person, and it's not every day that I talk to an old person. Heck, I only call my parents about once a week! Simply put, me and the elderly do not cross paths very often, and they do not make a huge impact on me.

But this past week, there were  three occurrences where my heart was touched by the hand of an old geezer, and dang it, it meant something. So I wanted to briefly go over the power of these handful of experiences and share the little that it meant to me,

1. 

(There actually isn't a moment in the entire book where it mentions Morrie and Mitch are sitting on a bench together)

I randomly bought this book for 5 dollars at a used book store back in January. The reasoning was that I remember my brother reading it once and mentioning that a sports journalist wrote it. So I was like, "Why the heck not?"

Well, it turns out this book is awesome, and not because it has to do anything with sports. I read it in about 7 hours. Morrie Schwartz has a story that isn't normally found in a bestseller. But he is an outstanding person. I think MitchAlbom nicely constructs the reader's internal conflict when reading this book, which I jotted down in my journal. "I think we all have a person like Morrie in our lives, or at least want one. Then again, I think the idea is to be like him."

I  enjoyed how Albom made Morrie's lifestyle just as transcendent as it was practical. Like, yeah I know this is what I should feel, but it also seems too extreme to work. If Albom came across any more theatrical or moralized, it would have taken away from the story's power. Kind of interesting how those things work sometimes.

2. 

I started working at a call center where no one calls you. Sounds pretty great, right? The company, CaptionCall, helps the hard of hearing, and deaf, use the phone. They send or receive a call, it gets triangulated to me, and I dictate whatever is being said, which will show up on the client's screen. My wife says I'm a professional eavesdropper. She's not wrong.

Now I'll go ahead and say the obvious: about 99% of the hard of hearing are also on AARP. For most of the day I listen to old people talk to each other, and 3 things have hit me.

1- old people love their Jeopardy. 100% serious. Don't call them when Alex Trebek is onscreen.

2- Just because you're collecting Social Security doesn't mean you stopped being a jerk to your friends at times.

3- Geriatric depression is real, and it cones out the most in family scenarios. Like, I know people my age often say they don't want to get old, but some old people don't want to be old either. And when it comes to illness--dementia, Alzheimer's, depression--it gets harder to conceal what's going on underneath. 

I don't I realized how prominent this is. I'm definitely not saying every call I field has a paranoid senior complaining about life to their exhausted child, but it happens more than once a day. I experienced some of this as a missionary; I would visit retirement homes or an elderly person far away from their family and get caught in their orb of loneliness to the point where we could never leave, even if they could care less about our message. Even then, I didn't get the same response as some of their family members do.

I suppose in this case, I should play the role of Mitch. Mitch saw past feeding off of Morrie's happiness and instead walked him to the bitter end. Morrie is the center of the book, but Mitch wrote it. That book has become more valuable than Morrie's primetime television interviews. If I'm Mitch, I'm giving what I can, even if I don't have it all yet.

3.

On Saturday Ashley and I hiked through Rock Creek Canyon. at the entrance, a man, most likely in his late 60s, asked if he could take our picture and send it to us. We obliged, and he construed a nice but dated Nikon. He snapped a few pictures, and got down my email. He'll be sending them shortly.

As we walked up the trail, I heard him stop more people. He actually stopped anyone he could. He was always smiling and happy to take photos of families, couples, and kids. 

The photos aren't that great, but the man was. On a Saturday afternoon, he is spending his time collecting memories for strangers, no strings attached. He was simply a nice man, and you don't get that very often. That's what I liked so much about him, he just wanted to see other people happy.

He was still there when we came back. We smiled, waved, and then I decided to talk to him. I think most people would let a man like that talk to them, but I wanted to talk to him, and that's a pretty fundamental difference for two very similar things. He turned out to be very nice and knowledgable about the trail, and even corrected our mistake--we reported we saw mountain goats, and they were actually bighorn sheep (looks like all those years of watching animal planet didn't work out for me).

We said goodbye and I'm anticipating the photos, but wow, that was a wonderful experience for me. In my own life, I saw a flash of Mitch and a lot of Morrie, and it made me feel much more optimistic about things. So I thank you, Geriatric community, for giving me more happiness in life, and reminding me that a generation gap doesn't mean that you're a world away.