More Than A Christmas: The Human Fund

First of all, Merry Christmas everyone. A donation has been made in each of your names to the human fund.

For those of you unfamiliar with Seinfeld and its infamous episode, The Strike¹Though the title of the Season 9 episode references Kramer’s labor stoppage at H & H Bagels, it’s more well known for the invented holiday of Festivus., a character is unhappy to learn that in exchange for Yankees tickets, a donation was made in his name to a charity. Because of George’s sadistic nature, he jumped on the idea and gave his office cards indicating a contribution had been made to his fake cause, The Human Fund. That’s not where I’m going with this.

We all have those down periods in life, where it’s either difficult to the see the light at the end of the tunnel or to appreciate how blessed we already are. One of the things I personally take for granted is all of the great people I have in my life. My gift, and it’s really more of a commitment, is to really embrace everything and everyone I have in my life. I’ve made it no secret that I want society to be better, but at the end of the day, the only one I have complete control over is me. I want to be a better son, a better husband, and a better publisher, colleague, social media pal, or whatever.

In my adult life, I haven’t been a big fan of the holidays. Whether it was for the military or the new life I sought out in Arizona, home for the holidays isn’t something I’ve practiced for a long time. People ask if I have bad memories of the holidays, and I really don’t. We were spoiled (but not spoiled rotten), and being a child, there was nothing better than the big family gatherings. I miss it, and getting back to Cleveland at Christmas is just a difficult, expensive option, so I haven’t been in 15 years.

A few years ago, my uncle passed away a few days before the 25th. He spent the last few years of his life in Tucson, so immediate family flew out to spend his final hours by their side. I should stress that he was more than just an uncle to me, we were very much like brothers. Though under morose circumstances, I found myself in the company of family during the holiday season. Truth be told, something about the time of saying good-bye and the early stages of bereavement was actually wonderful.

It saved my life.

I mean that. I was always angry about everything; the Browns, finances, job stress, etc. It was all so silly, getting worked up over the nonsense, even the nonsense that I love unconditionally, every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern, give or take a West Coast game or Thursday night affair. Though I regress at times, and get worked up over getting slaughtered by the Jets in Week 1, I am better about reminding myself about how short life can be.

So, it’s Christmas Day, which means we did our celebrating with friends last night, and the night did not disappoint. I’ve learned to have fun with the stuff I just have to laugh at. A friend’s brother was in from Wisconsin, and decked out in his Packers gear²Green Bay is playing the Cardinals in Glendale on Sunday, and the visiting team is expected to be overwhelmingly better represented among the paying customers., and he is speaking to how content he is that they’re in the playoffs.

I responded, “What’s that word you just used? Plergoffs? Am I pronouncing that right?”

It was at that moment that I realized I didn’t have any Browns gear, or a single thing representing Cleveland on my person. I had to let him know the joke was screwed because it’s a rare occasion that I’m not serving as an ambassador to Cleveland sports in public. I think people, especially new people try not to be mean. So, he dismissed it with a ‘good luck with that’. Fair enough.

I guess it’s like a Super Bowl within a season up there in Oakland for today’s Finals rematch between the Cavs and the Warriors. Vegas says Golden State by 8, and a lot of people that follow the Cavaliers religiously don’t even think they’ll cover. I think it’s a matter of motivation. I also think it’s not a Finals preview, as in San Antonio is probably pretty nice in June.

I’m just rambling now, so best wishes to everyone out there, and on behalf of the entire More Than A Fan family, have a safe and memorable holiday season.

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