“All people are at root time optimists. We always think there’s enough time to
do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens
and then we stand there holding on to words like ‘if’.”
— Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove

“And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more!’”
–Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

And so, ladies and gents, we have reached the holiday season and the conclusion of the year 2018. The winter solstice often inspires reflection on the previous year and anticipation of the year to come. Gather round the virtual Yule log, folks, and let’s chat. I recently read an excellent book. (This statement is unsurprising if you know anything about me.) It’s a novel by a Swedish gentleman named Fredrik Backman entitled A Man Called Ove. The title character, a cranky retiree and recent widower, repeatedly comes to the aid of his neighbors despite his anti-social tendencies. He ends up forging strong friendships and finding new meaning in his life by helping the people around him. As an aspiring grouchy old fart myself, I appreciated Ove’s impatience with other people and stubborn insistence on seemingly old-fashioned values such as hard work, loyalty, and honesty. Ove expresses disappointment and frustration with his fellow humans at every opportunity, yet his conscience and stubbornness force him to help them out, even when he says he’d rather be left alone.

Ove’s story seems particularly appropriate this time of year, since the holidays (at their best) bring us together. Whether we celebrate Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or none of the above, the holidays should remind us that, ultimately, our shared humanity should bring us together much more than it should pull us apart. Also, as Ove says in the quote at the beginning of this column, our time on this spinning rock is limited, ladies and gents. As the great American writer Kurt Vonnegut once said, “A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.” If you are lucky enough to have loved ones in your life, get busy showing them how much they mean to you. Tomorrow, folks, is a promise made to no one. And, as the Grinch learns, the meaning of the holidays doesn’t come from a store; maybe, perhaps, it means a little bit more.

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Sunny Solstice, and the very best possible 2019 to you, dear reader. Before you celebrate, however, kindly get off my lawn.