Lightning Strikes Twice

We made our way down today without too much fanfare, heading down to Daytona once more for a brief stay.  Amazingly - amazingly - we didn't run into traffic in Atlanta.  Even more so, we pretty much drove through Henry County without any traffic either.  The only place we slowed down a bit was in Jacksonville, but it was about rush hour at that time.  The day was actually a beautiful one.  We slept in late, given we had a later night.  That being said, we left later, and that was okay, given the amount of traffic in Atlanta in the morning.  

Madison was listening to music and watching movies in the back seat, while Daddy and Mommy spent the entire ride listening to some really interesting podcasts.  The one about KFC at Christmas in Japan was probably our favorite.

We had no idea about this one.  Apparently, an industrious KFC worker in Japan convinced a lot of people that what we do in America is eat KFC every Christmas.

Therefore, by extension, to properly celebrate the holiday, Japanese people ought to have KFC on Christmas too.  Right?  This grew into this proper Christmas monster, with all these people wanting KFC on Christmas.  One year people were waiting for hours to get their pre-ordered chicken.  Because you can't do Christmas without KFC chicken, right?

And the funny thing is that many of the people may have heard the truth: many of them probably aware that we here in America - as a large group - don't celebrate Christmas with KFC.  Still, in Japan, it's only right to have KFC chicken on Christmas, and you don't want to be that family that doesn't have it on the table.

Anyway, the guy who came up with this idea is a legend for KFC, I'm sure.  I mean, this Christmas, I'm super tempted to get a bucket.

But here we see fake news in action.  I mean, literally, it starts with this lie, which is "that everyone else thinks this is the way it works."  And everyone believes it to the point that they're going out, and investing a lot, all based on that initial lie.  And it keeps perpetuating and growing to the point that in an odd way, it actually becomes reality.  Only, of course, this reality for these people is built entirely on a not-quite-true foundation.

Weird, huh?  This wasn't meant to go into any metaphor.  Because I'm pretty firm in my belief system:  I know what I know.  Jesus was born on Christmas Day, and that's what it's all about.  And... I might be getting a bucket of KFC chicken for Christmas this year, just because.

Right about I-10 on the way down, we listened to a radio show that was just wonderful.  Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed were performing on the radio show, and it was an audio version of "It's a Wonderful Life."  It was just super fun to hear this performed in front of a live audience, and the quality was very good.  I can't imagine all the stress and complications of doing something like that live, but radio shows did that all the time, just as the stage performances were done in front of live audiences.  These days, we watch more things that are pre-recorded, done after several takes and done from different angles.  Back then, there was so much energy to these live performances.  We'll have a live performance of our own pretty soon, with Madison and Daddy on the big stage - and on television screens - in front of thousands.  That makes me super nervous, so I'm changing the subject now...

We got to Daytona Beach Shores, and it was dark, but there were a few Christmas lights here or there.  Along the street lights, there are some decorations, and at the top of some condos you can see more.  I imagine by week's end there will be more.

Nana and Ba-Ba were happy to see us, of course.  We did a bit of catching up, ate a little bit, unpacked, and just sat talking for a time.  Afterwards, Madison and Ba-Ba were watching the Tampa Bay Lightning humiliate the Buffalo Sabres.  The Lightning were down a player, so the Sabres had one extra player.  And even one player down, during one power play the Lightning scored twice!  Yes, and here comes the obvious joke:  Lightning strikes twice.

Anyway, it was nice sitting down together.  And it was an uneventful drive.  Ba-Ba is doing well, and his spirts  are upbeat, which is important.  His weight is very low, which is concerning.  But there is hope, and there is a determination and grit to carry on and beat this thing.  Stage Four cancer is a dragon, but St. George has valiantly went off to battle this beast, and shortly, he shall slay it.  Just this week, he'll finish his radiation treatments - we already have so much to be thankful for!