Charlie Brown Sans Linus

Today is December 21st, the first day of winter. There are less than four days left to Christmas and I still am not in the spirit of the season.

I've been to the shopping malls, but I am so uninterested in the vendors and their wares that I have resorted to the loser's standby -- gift cards. I have bypassed the kiosk that Purdys sets up each holiday season. I have not listened to a single Christmas album yet, not even the Bruce Cockburn album that I love. I can't even bring myself to watch The Grinch or A Christmas Carol because the protagonists give up in the end.

I know the reason why, though. I feel like Charlie Brown in the Christmas special. I see other people getting into the swing of things, but I just don't seem to connect. I sense the commercialism, but I don't have an alternative explanation.

There is one big difference, though, between me and Charlie Brown -- I don't have a Linus to put things into context. There is noone to dim the lights and step up to the mike and give me something to hold onto.