I have not seen Chuks annual Christmas story yet so I thought I would put this one up.  Hope it's coming though.

I seen this on another site and made a few changes to suit me, my life and this forum.  

Christmas Epistle – 2020 or what was that all about ????



Sitting here thinking about 2020. It started out as an above average year. 2019 ended gracefully, nice holidays and gatherings with friends and family and prospects for 2020 being better than average. Well, that hit the wall quickly, didn’t it ?? It didn’t take long for my plans for 2020 to change drastically.

All the bad news piled on all the other bad news (I hate 24 hour news) took away most of the joy of the new year and replaced it with uncertainty, trepidation and anxiety. Oh, and the hunt for the illusive toilet paper bundle. We increased our stores of groceries and other essentials and began our quarantine. Several of my neighbors in our little neighborhood got into it seriously planting gardens, canning and freezing and maintaining their distancing from others. We’d take over the fence several feet apart nearly daily, and wondering what was going to be the end game.

To begin with, the stay-at-home stuff was a bother and even if I had no where to go I made me anxious that I couldn’t go ! Silly. I got to do a lot of work around the house and shop and finally got to spend some time on my truck. Things got rearranged and maintenance was completed in lots of areas. It kept dragging on though and as the chore list got shorter, (you can only clean up the shop so many times, you know ?) boredom set in and the anxiety level started inching up. We cancelled travel plans, no car shows, that sucked. It made keeping a positive attitude harder. I read a lot and binge watched Netflix and Prime which lost their shine quickly. I’m on the internet a lot and found myself reading more and more positive and inspirational stuff. It didn’t take me long to realize how really good I had it, even with the “PANDEMIC !!”. I think that all of us, even with job losses and financial changes can probably say that.

I have a house paid for, food for a long time, two trucks and a hobby truck, money in the bank and no debt. That puts me in the top 5% of all the people in the world. In that perspective, I’m truly blessed… That one thought changed my attitude tremendously. I’m 57 and reasonably healthy but do notice I'm getting older and slower.  I can’t complain about that part of my life. I have a wife that loves and tolerates me and family that like me, mostly… another check in the plus column. Friends that support me. I really really ain’t got it so bad.

So in and few more days or so we can wave good-bye (your choice of wave technique) to 2020 and concentrate on the next year and our opportunities. I’m gonna do that with “glass overflowing” frame of mind and forget that half-full or empty thinking and I encourage you to try the same technique.

My God has blessed my life abundantly in more ways than I could ever even realize. My pastor told us just last week that God blesses us in abundance, not so we can have a lot of stuff but so we can share our abundance with others. And if we do.. it come back to us with more blessings. That ain’t a bad investment in my mind. It’s far more than I deserve. God gives us both grace and mercy. Grace is Him giving us something we don’t deserve. Mercy is Him NOT giving us what we do deserve.. I pray for both.




So, as always here’s my suggestions for 2021.. 


Treat 2020 at a learning experience and move forward. Forget the negative stuff from 2020 and concentrate on the positives in 2021.



I’m walking into 2021 with a clear heart and mind.
If you owe me, don’t worry about it – you’re welcome.
If you wronged me, it’s all good – lesson learned.
If you’re angry with me, you’ve won, congratulations.
If we aren’t speaking, its cool..I wish you well.
If you feel I wronged you, I apologize. It wasn’t intentional.


I am grateful for every experience that I received.

Life is too short for all the pent up anger, holding grudges and extra stress & pain.


I’M READY FOR 2021 !!



Remember, forgiving someone is for you..NOT THE OTHER PERSON

So don’t block your blessings. Make 2021 a year of positivity following

A season of forgiveness



My Christmas and New Years wish for all of my hot rodding family…



I hope that you and your families are in good health and spirits.
I hope that you are close to all of them and share good times often.( of course following government gathering guidelines J)
I hope if that isn’t the case and it's your fault that you fix it …. Soon. And even if it's not your fault… fix it…. SOON.
I hope that you can't begin to count all your friends. Not just your facebook friends… real people !
I hope that you have a God that you believe in and TALK TO.
I hope he listens to you and answers your questions and prayers.
I hope you thank your friends for being your friend and tell them how much it means to you just to have them in your life.

I hope you'll share these Christmas wishes and thoughts with every one you encounter, both friend and foe, loved one and stranger.
Be politically incorrect and wish EVERYONE Merry Christmas!!


Remember who’s birthday it is !!!!!



I hope you'll drop a dollar or two in the Salvation Army Bucket… make that bell ringer feel useful AND stick a couple of bucks in their pocket or a Starbucks gift card to get themselves a couple of hot chocolate on you.



Perform random acts of kindness to strangers… tip big occasionally… take a dozen donuts to the firehall…stop and shake a policeman’s hand and say thank you sincerely. If you see a soldier eating out (or a group of soldiers !!) pay for his meal, and keep it anonymous.
Pay for the guy behind you in the drive thru at McDonalds or Starbucks


I hope you'll send a Christmas Card with a check in it to the local mission or to Toys for Tots, or pick up a gift for an Angel Tree child. My favorite charity is St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital…(for obvious reasons) they do good things with your money.



I hope you’ll pray for our service men and women who won’t be home this Christmas.



So, that’s probably 15 minutes you’ll never get back. But I really wrote it more for me than you



Merry Christmas friends, family and a happy, peaceful, love filled 2021 to all of you