Here's the Scoop by Brian Sweeney

Warm and cuddly feeling
When a recent conversation came around to Snuggies, I felt left out. Finally, I casually asked: “What exactly is a Snuggie?” I didn’t receive an immediate answer, but there were plenty of skeptical stares from the small group assembled. No one present, it seems, believed that I didn’t know about the wonders of Snuggies.

Same old song...again and again...
How many others out there are really relieved that Christmas is over? I thought so.
I’ve got to admit it, for all the pain that the most recent recession has caused, I really did appreciate the fact that this financial meltdown erased much of the holiday season pressure. I doubt if the trend will last, but I liked the fact that presents became quite a bit less important in the past few years. Unless, of course, you were in charge of a company trying to sell useless trinkets to the masses.

The way the cookies crumble
Each year I ask the question: Should there be a limit on the number of Christmas cookies that one person can consume? The civil rights activist in me responds: No way. Thankfully.

On the wrong track
Like a few other people, I was not totally convinced that it was going to snow anytime soon this winter. I figured maybe a couple of inches in the middle of February. Naturally, there was no need for me to have snow tires put on our vehicles until that time.

Just follow the rules...
Holiday work parties…you’ve got to love them. I think.
At some point, these festive events have shifted focus. One of the strangest trends I’ve noticed is that the term “holiday party” has taken on a more vague meaning. I used to think that this name was inserted so that no one’s religious beliefs were offended. That’s fine.

A far out visit
Hey, man, we checked out The Museum at Bethel Woods – the Story of the Sixties and Woodstock over the holiday weekend. It was, as they say, really groovy.
For you non-hippies, that means we liked it.

Name of the game
Since Baseball Season ended, Reading Season kicked off for me. I’m not always really choosy about what I read. I like a good mystery or an interesting sale catalog.

For the first time in well, ever, I have our firewood supply ready long before snow is piled porch-high. Yup, the wood is all split and neatly stacked. OK, truth in firewood reporting here: “neatly” may not be the appropriate term to apply in this instance. If I were a romance novelist given to flowery descriptive passages, I would probably have referred to the pile as something like: “The winter’s fuel was carefully placed for optimum drying atmosphere in a sturdy, yet serpentine pattern.”

It’s the end of the world...and I feel fine
“The sky is falling!” How many times have we heard that one? Quite a few. Apparently, it’s going to fall permanently in 2012. Again. This news is certainly making a lot of folks quite anxious.

Vote for your elders
Election Day in a small town. There’s nothing like a little mud-slinging to get one’s heart racing and make you feel alive! Here in Middletown, the whole thing has been pretty low-key this year. Ask most people who is on the ballot this year and often you’ll get blank stares.