Mike O'Connell

A page-one story in my local paper Sunday enlightened me to a growing movement of so-called musicians who, instead of shooting solely for music stardom, are going to college to pursue “real” jobs too. Wanna-be musicians with day jobs? Never heard of this before.

You see, not every budding musician becomes an overnight millionaire. It’s not like the old days. Today you might need a college degree as something to fall back on.

This is the same newspaper that runs stories every week on how difficult it is for new college grads to find jobs. The world doesn’t place you in a comfortable, middle-income position in your field once you leave school? What?

I found particularly amusing the story of one young man profiled in the piece who realized, of course, that not everyone who plays in a band becomes a megastar. He’s gone so far as to have not one but two college majors.

Philosophy and religious studies.

Why have one worthless career path when you can have three?

Here’s the lesson for the day. Find something to do in this world that other people will pay you to do. Doesn’t matter whether it’s playing the guitar, fixing refrigerators, or leading expeditions of Mt. Everest. If somebody pays you to do it it’s a real job, no how many years you spent in college.

Or how many philosophy courses your parents paid for.

Happy 2016, my friends.

Be it resolved, this year, not to make any resolutions, just to be good for goodness sake.

And for Notre Dame to beat Ohio State this afternoon.

My God that’s gonna be sweet.

When you’re a year and a half old and Christmas rolls around, it’s pretty much Nirvana from the word go. Presents, food, everyone doting on you… this is what my son got to experience, and it was pretty fun for me to be a part of it as well.

I thought nothing could be better than this Christmas Day. Then Saturday rolled around. And just as I thought things couldn’t get any better, I was brought back to a day in December of 1983, when I was a mere eighteen months and basking in the glow of impending holiday cheer. What happened on December 17, 1983? This was the last time Washington’s football, basketball, and hockey teams won a game on the same day.

Yes,  Northern Virginia, there was a Santa Claus. And this year he brought not only temperatures pushing 70, but wins for the Caps, Wiz, and ’Skins. The Caps, by the way, have the most points in the Eastern Conference these days, the Wizards have won four games in a row, and the ’Skins are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Saturday’s victory was also the 600th in team history, and certainly one of the sweetest.

Sometimes Christmas comes late.

And it’s all good.

There are three Christmas movies that stand out above all others and must be watched each year in the days leading up to the big day. They are: Home Alone (now 25 years old… wow), A Christmas Story, and It’s a Wonderful Life. I’d say they should be watched in that order, on the 23^rd, 24^th, and 25^th, because somehow that just makes sense. Television stations will help you out on this one because these movies will be shown pretty much constantly this week.

The sort of “sleeper” pick for me as great Christmas movie, one that I must watch every year is Bad Santa, an underrated vehicle for Billy Bob Thorton as a boozing, thieving, department store Santa. Yes, the film is a bit silly, but isn’t everything, really? Don’t watch this one with your kids, though, as it is definitely not family friendly.

I should add that each year between Christmas and New Year’s I must watch the movie Diner, one of my favorites of all time. Sort of a Christmas movie, the action begins on December 25, 1959, and shows the week leading up to New Year’s 1960. It’s a movie about life and love and of growing up. I liked it when I was in high school, in college, post-college, and I still like it now. I think I’ll have Franklin watch it when he’s about 15.

And Bad Santa when he’s 27.

Of the literally thousands of holiday-themed TV sit-com episodes produced through the years there are half a dozen that stand out for me above all others and must be watched every December. Otherwise Christmas doesn’t really come.

Four of these episodes are actually from the same series: The Wonder Years, which owns Christmas like Roseanne owned Halloween and Cheers ruined all other Thanksgiving episodes with “Thanksgiving Orphans.” The Wonder Years came out with Christmas episodes in Seasons Two, Four, Five, and Six, and they are all excellent in their own ways. Like the series itself, one sees Kevin growing up through Christmases, from the awkwardness of teenage gift giving to the realities of Christmas we face as grownups. Thank you, again, Netflix, for making it so easy for me to retrieve these episodes and watch them repeatedly.

Next on our list is, of course, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” actually the first ever real full-length episode of The Simpsons. Now more than 25 years old, there is nothing more heartwarming than seeing a dysfunctional family win at Christmastime.

And speaking of dysfunctional families, there is the Costanzas. Yup, Frank, Estelle, and George Costanza, who have been celebrating “Festivus” (a holiday for the rest of us) since George was a boy. Perhaps more than no other Seinfeld reference, Festivus has entered our lives and lexicon and I’m sure one day will replace the official Christmas when the PC crowd finally gets its way.

Let the airing of grievances begin!