A Red-Nosed Christmas

I have long been a sucker for a good quiz, so when Facebook came along I was delighted to jump on that Facebook quiz "bandwagon."  It was all for fun of course, and I never put much stock in the results.

Then I took three different quizzes -- What Character from 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' are You?, What Christmas Movie is Your Favorite? and Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You? - which all revealed that I am Rudolph.

Okay, this made me click my heels three times and chant "I do believe in Facebook Quizzes! I do believe in Facebook Quizzes!"  You see, I really AM Rudolph!  Zimbio "gets" me.  It thinks I'm cute.

As a tiny misfit child, the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" really spoke to me.  I felt for the poor little reindeer who was rejected by his peers just because he was different.  I knew how Rudolph felt, being excluded from all those reindeer games.  But then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa needed Rudolph to guide his sleigh because of his shiny bright nose, which (if you saw it) you might even say it glowed. 

NOW, all the reindeer loved him!  I was so happy for Rudolph!  But the best part was that the very thing that made him different also made him special.  Rudolph gave me hope that that could happen to me someday too.

Then in 1964 the Rankin and Bass version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" hit our small screens -a musical re-telling of Rudolph's story and adventures complete with Burl Ives voicing the Narrator Snowman and cutting-edge slow-motion animation using claymation puppets.

If there was one thing I have always loved even more than a little quiz it was any story where the underdog prevailed.  The "Rudolph" television special did not disappoint.  Rudolph has a love interest named Clarice, a pretty little doe with impossibly long eyelashes who likes Rudolph even though he has a red nose, and who sings a lovely song entitled, There's Always Tomorrow (for dreams to come true).

He teams up with Hermie, an elf who wants to be a dentist, "just a couple of misfits" running off to escape their realities, and embarking on a number of adventures with the help of a prospector Yukon Cornelius.  Eventually they visit the Island of Misfit Toys, where toys that are different and not wanted by any boys and girls live.

In the end, Rudolph gets the gig saving Christmas and the girl, Hermie gets to practice dentistry without a license, Santa helps the misfit toys find children who will love them and we got an enduring Christmas classic that celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

Now I estimate that I have watched this television special about 40 times, but when I was viewing my 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (a gift from Mr. Rip) it still hadn't gotten old for me. When I posted my photo on Facebook of the Ultimate Rudolph Figurine Collection that I picked up , it received 45 Likes (and counting).

Talk about an underdog prevailing.

The Long and Endless Road

Dear Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission,

As someone who routinely travels nearly the entire span of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at least twice a year I understand that running such a road is not without its challenges.

I have lived with the endless construction projects, the lane closures, the uneven pavement, the potholes, and the fee increases.  To say I did so “cheerfully” might be an overstatement, but anyone who knows me will attest that I endured all of this with a resigned contentment.  All in all, I have been a darn good sport about it.

Dare I say that I have even gone so far as defending you publicly, saying for all to hear that the Turnpike is a good enough way to get to your destination. With all your faults, it certainly beats air travel as a transportation option.  There are many reasons for this but primarily it is because no one on the Turnpike ever requires you to remove your shoes.

I am actually a big fan of your rest stops.  Like everything in life they aren't perfect, but they are convenient, and provide the only thing I have every really asked of you: a place to go the bathroom when the need arises.  

Now I know that you are fully aware that Thanksgiving weekend is your heaviest travel weekend of the year.  Your very own Travel Advisory issued prior to the weekend warned us of possible delays and stated:  "Traffic volumes will be heaviest [over Thanksgiving] Wednesday from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 8 p.m."*

So surely you might have anticipated that one of these possible traffic delays could have taken place on the 77-mile stretch of road without any available restroom options that perhaps hundreds of thousands of us would be traveling on the Sunday after Thanksgiving while traveling east on the Turnpike.

   

While I intellectually appreciate that the Midway Rest Stop was closed for renovations due to your fervor to improve the rest stops, I have long been of the opinion that a substandard rest stop is better than none at all.  I have never been surer of this than I am after my experience that Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Your sign warning “Last Rest Stop for 77 Miles” was insufficient given the gridlock traffic we encountered shortly after passing that sign and given the fact that there was NOT EVEN ONE Exit along that long and seemingly endless 77 miles.

Suffice it to say that I really REALLY needed to go to the bathroom by the time I reached the Somerset rest stop.  I found that I was not alone in my need when I arrived there and got in a line of at least 50 women waiting to get into the Ladies room.

 

You had one job, Turnpike Commission, and you failed me.  What could you have done in this instance, you ask?  The answer is so simple that I am surprised it didn't occur to you.  RENT SOME PORTA-POTTIES for the emergency pull-over areas in the 77-mile stretch of road without any other rest room options on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

   

Honestly, Mr. John would be happy to set you up with some temporary bathroom solutions. PM me and I’ll give you their number.

Love,

Rip

 * http://www.paturnpike.com/press/2014/20141125112018.htm)