Losing My Perspicacity December 24, 2024

“Someday soon, we all will be together, if the fates allow

Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow

So have yourself a merry little Christmas now”

Those aren’t the exact original lyrics to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” but they’re closer than the one we sing today. Frank Sinatra changed the lyrics when he covered the song in 1957, but I’ve always felt the original lyrics (or at least the Ella Fitzgerald lyrics) were more poignant. 

The version of the song Judy Garland sings in 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis reflects an America that had lived on a war footing for four years. And while we look back on that time as a great triumph, when the film debuted in November of 1944, DDay wasn’t even 6 months in the rearview mirror, VE Day was still to come, and VJ Day was 10 months away. Though the film was set in 1903-04, you can feel the uncertainty of a world turned upside down in every note Garland sings

This year, more than any other I can remember, I relate to the original lyrics on a visceral level. Not only have I been out of work longer than I ever have in my life, the re-election of Donald Trump and everything he’s done in the less than two months he’s been the president-elect has made everything feel pretty damn terrible this holiday season. I don’t know where we’ll be a year from today, or how many of our fellow Americans will be here with us. It’s a terrible feeling — and I’m sure I don’t have to explain it to you. I feel as if everything I was ever taught this country was — or aspired to be — was a practical joke played on half of us, while a significant portion of the electorate (and, seemingly, a large number of people in Congress) were actually out for themselves and themselves only. And that’s before we even get to the rampant misogyny, racism, anti-immigrant, and anti-trans rhetoric that’s taken over the internet.

It’s a rotten way to feel.

But this newsletter isn’t about wallowing in Trump-induced misery or crying about the state of the media industry. Today, I wanted to send you all a “thank you” from the bottom of my heart. When the news that everyone at my publication was being laid off, the only thing I was sure of was that I never wanted to work for a place that put profits over the news or people ever again. I’m not sure where that place even exists these days, but I’ve been able to avoid working for a soulless content factory thus far in part because of those of you who subscribe to this newsletter, and I’m extremely grateful for each and every one of you, and that I have the chance to write this newsletter each day.

In the new year, I’m going to start aggressively marketing this newsletter and a few other projects I’ve got in the works. I know that can be annoying, and please know that most of us hate having to do it. But everything is so competitive right now that you have to toot your own horn or risk getting lost in the shuffle. So please bear with me if I appear to be over-promoting things, and know that I hate doing it more than you hate seeing it. However, the fact of the matter is that I need to scale this newsletter quickly, or I’ll need to find a job in a different industry in the coming months.

No matter what happens, I’ll always be grateful that I took a chance on LMP.

We’re going to end this week with only The High Note because, if any of you feel the way I do, we all need it desperately.

Today, please enjoy Charlie Woods hitting his first hole-in-one at the PNC Championship and the reaction from his dad.

Given what these kids have been through, I’m happy to see that their relationship with their dad appears to be intact.

And, if you need a laugh today, I recommend this still excellent 2010 Xmas post from Hyperbole and a Half. God, I miss that site.

Survive and advance, don’t let the bastards get you down, etc, etc. I’ll see you all on Monday and Tuesday next week. Then we can finally put this wretched year to bed (have we said that every year since 2020?).

And remember: Next year, we will all have muddled through somehow….

Here’s to better things in the New Year.