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2002-12-28 10:48 a.m. CRESCENT CITY DAY 1 Andie and I decided to brave the nine�hour trip to visit her mom in Crescent City this weekend. Andie wanted to see her family for the holidays and be there for her mom's Christmas party, and I agreed to go with. The trek there was painful and long and rainy and horrible. Nine hours is far too long for any sane person to spend in a car in one day. But, Andie is pretty good company and we made the best of it�joking, laughing, and finishing one another's sentences as usual. We ate a fine dinner shortly after we arrived�smoked turkey, stewed tomatoes, chicken. Then we got on to the business of exchanging gifts. Their gift exchange was humble and just what I needed to cure that sick feeling I get in my stomach during the winter holidays�a nausea induced by the gluttonous consumerism I see around me starting the very day after Thanksgiving. It happens with so many people, so many families, even my own family. I feel like my mother and grandmother go overboard and focus far to much on gifts�it makes me feel so uncomfortable. For me, it detracts from the spirit of what a holiday ought to be about�special time spent with loved ones, laughing, sharing stories. Lawanda and Wayne, Andie's mother and step�father, gave me two simple and excellent gifts. First they gave me a jar with a lock of dirty�blonde hair in it. People often give me jars with hair and skin and body parts in them. But, this was a piece of hair from Andie's very first haircut! I felt honored to receive such a historical souvenir�genuine hair from my hero and love�of�my�life.
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