One to Remember

Xmas in California 2025

The frozen blueberries for your morning smoothie turn to mush after 3 days without power. You get to eat fudge for breakfast, guilt-free... accompanied by powdered espresso made with hot water from the faucet.

You spend the day crisscrossing the Monterey Peninsula looking for a store that can ring up a sale for ice. By the time you find one, it’s all melted.

The tree is beautiful at night. You can see it with your flashlight. You have cocktails in the dark, and dinner by candlelight.

You thank Heaven for the birth of Christ, tiny tabletop lanterns, and your friend who’s a chef. The risotto is delicious. And you need carbs to maintain body temperature when it’s cold indoors.

You get nostalgic. You remember your Christmas trek in the Himalayas.

You’ve tried to merge with the black Void during meditation. And you now realize it’s all around you. You call out, “Are you there, Yorick?” And he answers from the Void, “Yeah, I’m over here, petting the dogs.”

The utility company texts you that they can’t promise for sure, but they’re trying really hard and power may come back by midnight tomorrow.

You remind yourself that the best gift anyone could ever give you is a generator.

The wine and the company bring laughter. The pork tenderloin was barbecued in light rain before it went bad. The lightning was pretty. Apocalyptic wind and rainfall paused for dinner.

You make it home alive in the dark feeling blessed for having an amazing sense of direction and an awesome choice of friends.

It was a perfect Xmas… one to remember.