My Nephew David Visits Santa But I Do Not Think David Has Gotten His Black-Eyed Peas For New Year's Day Yet

That is my red-headed, ginger snap nephew David sitting on Santa's lap at something called the Festival of Trees, I assume somewhere in Tacoma.

I remember being taken to Sedro-Woolley every Christmas season to see Santa and get a big candy cane, and to tell Santa what I wanted for Christmas, none of which I ever got, which led to my early disillusionment with Christmas.

I have yet to see a Santa Claus this holiday season.

Speaking of this holiday season. There are differences in this southern region from how the season is celebrated in the northwestern region.

One example is black-eyed peas.

Decades ago, when I used to hang out with Gar the Texan, he would regularly confound me by saying things I did not understand.  One that really sticks in my memory was we were heading up to Turner Falls Park in Oklahoma, in the week between Christmas and New Years.

At one point during the drive north, Gar the Texan asked if I was having trouble finding my black-eyed peas this year?

Huh? Why would I want black-eyed peas, I asked?

You don't have to have black-eyed peas on New Years Day, Gar the Texan asked?

No, said I. Why would I?

Gar the Texan then told me he thought everyone ate black-eyed peas for good luck for the new year on New Year's Day.

This was the first I ever heard of this.

Doing a little research into this serious black-eyed peas issue I learned this black-eyed peas thing on New Year's Day is a Southern thing. Apparently many Southerners believe this dates back to the Civil War when black-eyed peas were considered food for animals, not humans. General Sherman's troops would not eat black-eyed peas as they marched across Georgia on their way to burn Atlanta. When the Union soldiers would raid Confederate supplies they'd take everything but the black-eyed peas and salt pork.

The Confederates then considered themselves lucky to have been left the black-eyed peas and salt pork, giving them something to eat to survive the winter.

Others claim the black-eyed peas thing came about because black-eyed peas were all the newly freed Southern Slaves had to celebrate on January 1, 1863, the day the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, with, from that point forward, black-eyed peas always being eaten on the first day of the new year.

I find the Emancipation Proclamation explanation to be a bit difficult to believe. I don't think many slaves knew they'd been freed until later.

The only thing I know for sure about this black-eyed pea thing is I will not be having any on New Year's Day.  But, I may change my mind on that if I get feeling desperately in need of acquiring some good luck.

Cowboys Stadium & The Black Eyed Peas Put On The Best Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever In My Ever So Humble Opinion

The screencap is from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, right after the Super Bowl halftime show.

Green Bay is currently ahead.

But.

I am thinking who is even further ahead is Arlington. And Dallas. And Fort Worth. And North Texas.

Because.

After a Super Bowl Week of Weather Misery it appears to me that this zone I am living in is putting on one very impressive Super Bowl.

I now understand that much of what was put up around Cowboys Stadium was actually a well-designed television studio.

But where this went over the top, into impressive zone, was the Halftime Show.

Best ever. In my humble opinion.

And even more impressive. To me. Is this seemed to out-do any Olympics Opening Ceremony Show I've watched. Like that Canadian lame production for the most recent Winter Olympics.

And it was so American. By that I mean, so free-spirited. Right before the Super Bowl started tossing footballs there was a slickly produced reading of the Declaration of Independence. I was starting to think I was watching a propaganda production of the United States Government.

I figured there would be an Air Force fly-by after the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. So, as Christine Aquilera warbled the National Anthem I fired up my camera in anticipation of taking a picture of the Air Force fly-by.

Well, on the TV screen we saw the fly-by, below blue sky, while I looked at a cloudy sky. I thought I may have heard jets.

But.

I think that Air Force fly-by at the end of the National Anthem was totally faked. As in filmed before the event.

I am so disillusioned. But that will not stop me from still thinking this is being one well done Super Bowl.

With a Super great Super Bowl Halftime Show.

I guess I will leave blogging world now and go watch some more boring football.

But, before I subject myself to that, I have to say, the commercials this year have been pretty good.

And now. More football...

The Queen Of Wink's West Texas Black Eyed Peas Question

The Queen of Wink just returned from her mommy and daddy's, where she partook in the traditional New Year's food, like black eyed peas and cabbage.

The Queen asked me if Washingtonians partook of these foods at New Years.

Well.

At least she had the common sense to ask. Gar the Texan lacked that common sense when he asked me about black eyed peas.

I think it was in 2002, maybe 2003, Gar the Texan and I were going up to Turner Falls in Oklahoma. It was a few days before New Years.

Gar the Texan asked me if I was having trouble finding my black eyed peas this year.

I had no idea what this meant and feared he was slipping into the incoherency of one of his attacks of the vapors, which, ironically he did, shortly thereafter, but not before I told him I had no idea what black eyed peas were, besides Fergie's singing group.

Gar the Texan was shocked to learn that the entire civilized world did not believe you had to eat black eyed peas on New Year's Day to guarantee you'd have good luck during the New Year.

Gar the Texan was in all sorts of panic states due to fearing he'd not find black eyed peas in time to stave off a year of bad luck.

But, you just have had a year of real bad luck, so what good do these peas do you, I asked?

Before Gar the Texan could answer that question he started to have an attack of the vapors. I had to find him a Burger King so he could have a Whopper Burger before he went into total diabetic shock.

I never did get an answer to the what good did the peas do you question.

Since then Gar the Texan's luck has gotten even worse. Nowadays he finds himself married to a German 20 years his junior, who can't speak English. Which works out okay for Gar the Texan. Just today he was bragging about wearing a t-shirt that says, "I do everything the voices in my wife's head tell me to do."