Daily Dirt: It’s never too late to start a family holiday tradition

Daily Dirt for Dec. 4, 2021
It’s time for the first official “Merry Christmas” of the season, one of the simple holiday traditions that mean so much. Traditions are important this time of the year … welcome to Vol. 147 of the Daily Dirt and today’s three thoughts.

1. It’s the holiday season, and these are my five favorite traditions:

• Some sort of family photo each other, featuring the same cousins, grandchildren, etc. It is fun to compare the pictures over the years and see how much each of the individuals has changed.
• Watch one particular movie each holiday season as a family, whether it’s “Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase, “It’s A Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart or some other selection. For our family, it has usually been “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Yes, we now know much of the dialogue by heart. And no, it never grows old.
• Whether it’s Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, as many family members as possible gather together, if only for 15 minutes. It’s the stuff of memories.
• The same holds true for New Year’s Eve. Maybe you can only stop by mom and dad’s for a few minutes, but there’s something special about ushering out the old year and ushering in the new as a family.
• Honor a loved one who is no longer with the family. Maybe you remember a grandma or grandpa from years ago, or an aunt or uncle who may have recently passed. It doesn’t have to be some long, drawn-out process. As a group, simply bring up a memory of the departed and watch the room light up in smiles.

Don’t have a family holiday tradition? It’s never too late to start.

2. Some ideas to improve the NFL I saw on Twitter. Some were, of course, half in jest, yet actually make a lot of sense:

• Taunting is not only allowed, it is encouraged.
• Kicks that go through the uprights on kickoffs are worth one point.
• Team celebrations after touchdowns are mandatory.
• Quarterbacks don’t credit for yards after the catch by a wide receiver.
• Instead of quarterbacks, wide receivers get charged with an interception if the ball its them in the hands and winds up with the opposing team.

3. It’s time for another edition of (drum roll, please ..) “Overrated, Underrated”: Today’s topic: Fast food.

Overrated: Subshop sandwiches. There is simply not enough meat. All I can taste is bun and lettuce.

Underrated: Wendy’s chili. It is magnificent. It is one of the finest overall fast-food entries. Ever.

Overrated: Taco Bell’s basic tacos. They are dreadful, especially in the soft taco format. The meat product is normally too watery and often lukewarm by the time the wrapper is opened. (The chalupas, however, are normally tremendous, but that’s another subject for another day.)

Underrated: Arby’s succulent roast chicken sandwich, with bacon, Swiss cheese and Dijon honey mustard. I would get it minus the mustard. Either way, however, the ingredients “stack up” to one great offering.

Steve Fact O’ The Day
Steve once played the Rascals’ “Good Lovin'” on his accordion.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He has to bring his according to the Muddy River Christmas Party.