The Royce Files

Many say the end of the year is one of the best bargain hunting times.  I say anytime of the year is a good time, that is if you have mastered the art of the deal. The pre and post Yuletide, Christmastide, shopping season affords many a bargain hunter with a myriad of flotsam of the holiday kind. Holiday fluff comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Most of us have bins of the stuff stacked in some closet. I am pretty sure I don't want to have more that one small box labeled: Christmas Stuff. Thus far I have kept this promise to myself. However, this year I found myself yearning to be a bit more festive. I did not break out any decorations this year. None except a few old Christmas cards which I made to look like I received some. I only got one from my father this year. Well on my trek home for Christmas I encountered a this festive item which also was practical. This Eddie Bauer holiday motiff wool blend mock turtle neck sweater came into my posse...

I had intended this Autumn holiday at Breezy Point to be one where I could do plenty of writing. The only problem- no particular place to write in the unit. The best place to write would have been the kitchen but the loud television made that absolutely impossible. I tried to make a nightstand into a desk in the bedroom. No go. It fit the laptop but was just a bit cramped. I did research instead- reading Christmas stories from the Guidepost book I referred to a few entries before. In the past I have written quite a bit at Breezy Point. But blockage kept me from the task. I wonder if Sinclair Lewis experienced any writing blockage the summer he spent at Breezy Point? Apparently we was able to write Elmer Gantry during his stay: Sinclair Lewis during the early Breezy era, rented a cabin on Pelican one summer and wrote his novel Elmer Gantry. His book would become a movie and take its place among the finest of American literary achievements. One family member close to the Lewis-era in t...