...

(Cont'd)

I INTERRUPT THIS HOLIDAY POSTING, Dear Reader, to bring you a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: For the following six hundred reasons, it is highly advised that you refrain from acting in the capacity of a landlord. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. Only after determining that you have the stomach for it should you venture into such an endeavor, and only then with much careful questioning of your sanity.

1. The very real possibility always exits for severely unpleasant circumstances to impinge upon one's Christmas morning family festivities. (As an example, a water main could break, which could entail the shutting down of water supply to eight of one's cozy one-bedrooms, which could entail the calling of numerous plumbers imploring them to leave Christmas merrymaking aside and come to one's assistance on a cold Christmas morning. Following this, there is the distinct possibility that one may find oneself making phone calls to many of one's tenants with the dismal news that they shall be without water for all of Christmas Day, as no plumber has been found who can manage to show up with a backhoe and an assistant and with copper pipe and coupling in hand. And then, too, one could wind up fretting over the situation unduly and becoming a downright nuisance to the township on-call employee, pleading with him to turn the water on again and off again at least once during the day in order that one might call each of one's tenants once again to inform them they would have snatches of time to ready themselves for the long hours when water would not stream into their toilet tanks nor flow with Christmas cheerfulness from their faucets). Many other examples could be given.

2. Reason #2 is wrapped up neatly (as were all those Christmas presents, Dear Reader, that you tore open yesterday with carefree holiday abandon, leading me to assume that you have heretofore heeded the essence of the preceding public service announcement) within the final sentence in Reason number one.

3. through 600. Ditto.


...
And now that I've got THAT out of the way, I can show you a glimpse of the Christmas gaiety that gladdened my heart (between phone calls) yesterday:



Naturally, the Little Actor was on a holiday
from acting.



But being the Little Star that he is, the center
of attention belonged to him.
(Although, at our traditional Christmas brunch, the fruit salad ran a close second [well, not all that close, really]



and tomorrow, if you should choose to continue with this continuing saga, Reader Dear, I will share with you another runner-up).

...