Warning: this post may contain a hazardous amount of inside jokes. Continue reading at your own risk.

Rumors of This Blog’s Continuity Highly Exaggerated
No, my friends, this post and the one preceding it are not proof that Fishkite will continue as before. This is just a break from the hiatus. Don’t get your hopes up. It’s not the equivalent of The Rocket showing up for Spring Training; it’s not even a cup of coffee. It’s just one time around the Monopoly board.

Dreaming of a Wright Christmas
Fishkite’s father is in town, with his wife, and they are staying with us for a few days. We’re enjoying a wonderful holiday, here in the “enclave.”

In fact, I have created a monster, or two: it seems my success with Weight Watchers is addictive. So now almost every member of my family is on this diet; brother Yankeestom is counting out his points in orders of french fries, and Yankeestom Sr. is well on his way to losing 20 pounds worth of lemon shakes.

Yesterday we exchanged gifts. The very thoughtful Mrs. Fishkite got me a pair of Crocs, a radar pitch baseball, a trunk organizer for the Mick-mobile and a collection of writings by Rich Mullins called The World As I Remember It. She got a set of Johnny Cash CDs and a photo printer.

Following Your Dreams, No Matter What
To keep our minds off the sugarplums, we’ve taken in two great movies: Rocky Balboa and The Pursuit of Happyness. I absolutely love the new Rocky flick and highly recommend this sequel — it totally redeems the original story. Perhaps the best thing you could say about it is that the relatively brief fight sequence is arguably the worst part. I also enjoyed Will Smith’s Pursuit of Happyness, but maybe not as much, if only because my expectations were very high after watching the previews. Both films deliver a similar moral lesson that has kept me thinking and examining my life long after leaving the theatre.

Combat Infant Mortality
One last thing, and I’m done: Fishkite is once again teaming up with some friends who lost their twin girls Mercy and Grace, born prematurely a couple years ago, and is participating in Walk America for the March of Dimes. You can help by visiting my special team website. Since Memphis has the unfortunate distinction of being the nation’s “infant death capital,” your support could have a tremendous local impact. Thanks in advance for your help.

AND: I couldn’t agree more with this writer about The Good Shepherd: it’s an “ineffectual,” “plodding” film that makes the personalities and events behind the creation of the CIA “far, far less exciting than [they] sound.” Too many hours of my life are now wasted… it’s like I was stuck in traffic waiting on the St. Jude marathon to finish so I could get another gallon of eggnog. Precious, precious eggnog.