Robin Trower 'Long Misty Days'

My friend Christine is a gifted shopper. She can sniff out bargains faster than a police K-9 can locate a dime bag in a lone car sitting in a desolate parking lot. When she’s buying gifts for people she actually thinks about what they like and what they need. For crazy reasons, she puts thought into them.

Me? I just want to get it done and over with.

I was planning on finishing up my shopping on Thursday and Friday, but my tonsillitis sickness kept me home and out of action. So I begged for Christine’s help! And being the nearly professional shopper that she is, we found a day and time that we agreed upon… High Noon on Saturday.

She took another P.I.T.A. (Pain In The Ass) thing out of my hands by allowing me to be her passenger as she drove. That way, I wouldn’t get all angry over the traffic madness. Yes, it did me a world of good staying from behind the wheel. Beside that… Her daughter Gwyneth was going with us.

We hit Friendly Center and HH Gregg. We were done in under an hour! We found easy parking and the stores weren’t as crowded as I had anticipated. I got no headache, I didn’t break out in hives, and I wasn’t filmed by a store’s surveillance system strangling a fellow customer or store employee.

When I have to go shopping with long lines expected, I NEED to have someone with me to bounce off. If I don’t… I will get bored or possibly angry. I may even lay down in the floor like a bored child at the bank. I need a person with me to keep me calm.

When I shop… I know what I want, go in and get it, and I’m out. I don’t waste time looking at other crap. I view shopping as something like clipping my fingernails… It’s got to be done every so often and I get it done quickly with no procrastination.

After the shopping was done… The 3 of us hit the new East Coast Wings in Greensboro. They've been gone from the G-B-O for a long time. And that’s where I got my Christmas miracle!

I never believed in such things before. I thought Christmas/Holiday miracles only happened to good people… Not to people like me! The kind of guy that doesn’t like the Holidays. The kind of guy who possesses a heart that’s a little darker than most.

But it happened! And it appeared to me in one of the strangest places… Rachelle (pronounced “Rachel”) brought me either my second or third Red Oak beer at East Coast Wings and there it was. The ice from the chilled mug had gotten together with the heady foam of my Red Oak to form the shape of a 5 point star.

I took a picture with my cell phone… I must share my Christmas Miracle with the World!