Ah, the holidays. A time for family gatherings………and also family drama. About a week before Christmas, one of my cousins found out that he was not the father of his ex-girlfriend’s son. For almost 2 years, my cousin had been providing for his then girlfriend and their son. And during that time, other family members kept telling him that he was not the father of the child.

Happy to have a son, my cousin chose not to listen to the naysayers. But in the back of his mind, he questioned the notion himself and decided to have a DNA test performed. Turns out, the naysayers were correct. He was not the father of the little boy. So during our family Christmas Eve dinner, some family members were congratulating my cousin for finally finding out the truth.

Sure, he no longer has to pay child support for a child that is not his, but for almost 2 years, he’s formed a bond with this little boy. Where does that leave the child? My cousin is the only father he’s known. And yes, the kid is young so he will probably forget my cousin over time, but there’s no easy answer to this.

My cousin may be dismissing this now, but he’s going to hurt later on. To have been called “Daddy” for 2 years and now there’s a void. And to think, I used to laugh at the Maury paternity test shows. But when someone that’s close to you has to go through it, it’s not a laughing matter.

The Chia Pet. Who buys this shit? And better yet, is this how you really think of your loved ones, by purchasing a Chia Pet for them for Christmas? Apparently someone is keeping the company who makes these afloat, because it has been around since the early 80’s and there’s a commercial on television every year at Christmastime.

I happened to see one of the commercials this morning and no longer are they specializing in the animal figurines that grow herbal plants, but now they’ve added Shrek, Homer Simpson, Scooby Doo and Shaggy, Bugs Bunny, Tweety, etc.

Who in their right mind wants to see an herbal afro growing on Tweety? Shaggy, yes, but Tweety? Blasphemy! Is the Chia Pet supposed to get kids interested in botany? What is it’s purpose? Whatever happened to watching seeds grow in a styrofoam cup? That’s how we did it in grade school.

Okay bloggers, I need your help. An organization that I belong to is donating 2 giant gift baskets to our local VA nursing home for Christmas. We’ve decided to add items to the baskets ourselves instead of going to a florist or gift company to create the baskets for us.

Now this is the part where I need your help. I need a list of items for the elderly to add to my basket. Also keep in mind, some of the elderly may be diabetic and/or have false teeth. For instance, I thought about adding some cans of Ensure. And Amn.eris came up with the great suggestion of adding crossword and suduko puzzle books.

We are taking these baskets to the nursing home next Friday, so I need suggestions well before that day. Thanks in advance!

The city of Jackson’s annual Christmas parade took place on Saturday. Here are a few highlights from that day.

The writers are still striking in Hollywood. Heroes just ended the first half of it’s season on Monday of this week, but I’m not upset. You wanna know why? Because The Wire returns for it’s 5th and final season on HBO starting January 6, 2008. If you haven’t seen the promos yet, you can catch them on Youtube.

This season’s focus will deal with the media and media consumption. And by the looks of the promos, McNulty is back to his old self, drinkin’ and hoein’. Bubbs has checked himself into rehab. Marlo’s crew has gotten stronger. Mayor Carcetti is still trying to clean up B-More, and Omar is more ruthless than ever! Oh, and there’s a new theme song this season.

I can hardly wait for the new year to arrive. I know exactly where I’ll be on Sunday nights. Posted up in front of the tube, with all phone calls routed to voicemail, as I catch each and every episode of the 5th and final season of The Wire.