Christmas is basically just a week away, my friends! That's gotta be exciting, right? I mean, for those of you who celebrate Christmas, anyway. For most other people, it's just going to be another miserable Friday in the midst of a deadly pandemic that has already ruined the past nine months of their lives, and (in the good ol' U S of A, at any rate) is only getting worse by the day because the federal government has completely abdicated any responsibility, and in fact might be actively rooting for the virus at this point. Come to think of it, most people who actually do celebrate Christmas might be in a similar mindset. I know I'm in that particular boat.
I'm just not feeling very festive as of late, kiddies. All the festive decorations are scattered about the house, the big plastic tree is prominently displayed, and multi-colored lights are blazing all around, but that elusive Christmas Spirit seems further away right now than it has in a long while.
I've been lucky enough thus far that I haven't lost anybody close to this plague, but my heart breaks for all the people who have. And my days and nights are haunted by the distinct possibility that maybe my luck on this front is just about to run out. I try not to dwell on these thoughts, but I just can't help it. None of our thoughts should be burdened with this nightmare. And the situation didn't have to spiral so completely out of control. Over 300,000 people are dead because of this plague, and so many of those deaths were preventable. Hundreds of thousands of people won't ever again be able to spend the holidays with the people they loved. These lives have been stolen from us. And the people in positions of power, the ones who had the means and the authority to save those lives, don't give a damn. They don't care if your mother died alone in an ICU with a tube jammed down her throat. The human cost means nothing to them. If they catch the virus, they have access to bleeding-edge medical technology and therapies that will save their lives. If you catch the virus, you're on your own.
I don't see many reasons to be festive this year. Maybe I should celebrate the simple fact that I'm still alive. Maybe that's enough. I haven't let this cruel old world grind me into the dirt just yet. That's reason enough to say "Merry Christmas", I suppose. How about you? Do you have a reason to be festive this season? Are you in a merry mood, this December? I hope so. I truly do. We deserve a little joy in our lives, friends. A small, cheerful light to help us find our way through this miserable darkness. That's why I'm here to tell you that a brand-new episode of Trappo's Chap House is available for your listening pleasure.
This week, it's all about comic books, those floppy little periodicals filled with words and pictures that you might have read from time to time when you were young and stupid. Ah, comic books. I used to love comic books. As a matter of fact, I still do. That's what this week's episode is about. Spoiler alert: that's also what the next two episodes after our first (and last) upcoming annual Christmas Spectacular are about. In this delightful installment, I get very drunk and just start rambling about comic books to my cousin Ky for a while, even mentioning how I've recently discovered the YouTube channel Cartoonist Kayfabe, and how hosts Jim Rugg & Ed Piskor's love of the medium has rekindled my own affection for those delightful saddle-stitched bundles of joy. Ky and I also discuss how Neil Gaiman's The Sandman might represent the pinnacle of comic books as an art form. Then I think I pass out. I honestly can't remember, because I blacked out the night this conversation was recorded. It's a miracle I didn't choke on my own vomit overnight. Perhaps you could call it... a Christmas miracle? Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast application, as long as it's Apple Podcasts, because this shit isn't on Spotify or Google. I guess they have standards.
Chapter 29: I Was A Teenage Comic Book Nerd
That's it for this week, friends. Next week is Christmas, and that means... oh shit. I already told you there was a holiday-themed podcast coming. I guess that surprise has been blown. Well... I guess I'll just have to think of something else to commemorate the holiday. I've got nothing at the moment, but I'm sure it will come to me. Until then...
Stay Spooky, Motherfuckers!
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