The boys of the NYPD choir were singing "Galway Bay".

It's that time of year, firmly two days past Thanksgiving now, and everything is lit by the fervent glow of millions of tiny glass bulbs and inflatable creches. And people are going to want to buy me things. Even if I gently discourage 'stuff in the name of stuff'. In the interest of helping people, then, to get stuff that would be helpful and useful, I present my "I have been more good this year than you can possibly imagine' list. I would like:

1. A pair of slippers would be nice. Ideally, something well made and also cute. My brief shopping trip returned (a) very little that fit and (b) nothing cute that fit. Because gentlemen are supposed to wear boring footwear, not fluffy versions of movie Dorothy's ruby slippers or little Appas that go on your feet. (Size ten and a half US)

2. A chord booklet. Anne was very thoughtful and gave me one, but in my rush to return her guitar and get to the airport, I very cleverly put it and a sack of guitar picks into her guitar case and never got them out again.

3. There are lots of books on my 'want to read' list on Goodreads. There's also an Amazon wishlist that I should probably scout out and see how accurate it is at this point. I have the first six Walker Paper books, and the novelette *after* "Raven Calls" but can't read it until I get RC cleared. I've read the Dresden Files through "Changes" and have not ready "Ghost Story" yet. Amazon gift cards will always find a use. Also useful? Some spare time to read all the stuff piled up waiting for me.

4. As far as music goes, best bet is probably Amazon there as well. PS: I got a Caro Emerald CD recently and highly recommend it to everybody.

5. Charities. Give to people who need it, and do it in my name or just send me a card that says you did it for me. Medicin sans Frontier, the Humane Society, the National Film Preservation Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates, Emily's List, Habitat for Humanity, the Snowden Environmental Trust, OSF... or somebody you think could use a leg up. I'm sure you know lots of possibilities.

6. And then for those of you who find common sense and boundaries to be inconvenient and annoying, there's the steel string Blackbird Rider. They sell new for $1500+ but the Chicago Music Exchange has a used one in the back room for $1200.

And the bells were ringing out

And now that I've cleared the 'stuff' part of what I want, here's the sitch.
What I really want? Is your time. Stuff like hanging out, going to dinner, running games, being in games, brushing my hair, snowball fights--that's tricky for most of you, being hundreds of miles away. But you can still write, or mix, or share recipes, or send photos or... look, you're my friends so you have creative twisted minds. One of my friends recorded a song and sent me an mp3, and that was delightful. I'm sure you'll do just fine.

Yup, it's breakfast time all right.

Work boots, jeans, battered leather jacket, Stetson. I feel like Sam Elliott.