Dudes And Christmas Shopping

December 19, 2022
Black and white comic strip of Bryan getting kicked out the door and butt landing on the sidewalk. Drawn by artist Bryan Skinnell.

Since Christmas is almost here and I STILL haven’t done a lick of Christmas shopping for my loved ones (Loved? Haaaa!!) I might as well waste even more of my precious and rapidly dwindling shopping time to write about and explain a few things about this timely, yet taboo, subject that urgently needs discussing…. Christmas shopping for dudes. And the ugly fact is dudes just don’t like doing it! So there you go… the unvarnished truth spelled out in under a dozen words.

Shopping, as we all know, is simply not a manly thing to fritter away your time on unless you happen to be shopping for a fishing pole or some tools. Guys, being the lovable and thoughtful creatures they are, are going to do what comes naturally for them. And what comes most naturally for us is putting off our Christmas shopping for as long as humanly possible. Heck, I’ve been putting off my shopping since 2020! But that’s small potatoes compared to some of the miserly tightwads I know who haven’t bought a Christmas gift for anyone since Reagan was running the land.

It’s a scientific fact that shopping just ain’t in our DNA. And apparently neither is paying attention. Why, if it wasn’t for our family, friends, and even total strangers continually threatening us to get our lazy and cheap butts out there and buy them some Christmas loot most guys probably wouldn’t even bother with the task at all. And if we didn’t the economy would implode which would be a terrible thing to happen at Christmas and undoubtedly would make people even more angry at us than they already are. Guess I really do owe them a little something, don’t you think?

Maybe it’s finally time for me to take that cruise to Hawaii that I’ve always wanted to. They tell me that being out of sight is out of mind and Lordy knows I’d rather not think about spending the holidays with my bunch of hooligans any more than I can help it. But I’m not a total Christmas grinch! I’ll be sure to send them a postcard letting them know that not only was I thinking of them but that I was about to buy them a little something while cruising the Hawaiian beaches and soaking the tropical sun with a delicious pina colada in my hand. But those darn shipping rates are out of sight so hope they don’t mind my sending them just a card instead. After all it’s the thought that counts! Merry Christmas.

Why hello there! My name is Bryan Skinnell and I am a middle-aged (50-ish) artist and neighborhood kook who is living the artistic and creative life out in the boonies of Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is one of the largest counties in the commonwealth of Virginia and, for the most part, it’s still a mostly rural one that bridges the gap between Roanoke and Lynchburg. You could say, in more ways than one, that Bedford is the heart of Virginia. I can’t argue with that although I usually think of Bedford more as Virginia’s belly button myself.

I grew up right here in Bedford and have lived and toiled most of my life on our infamous red clay. The sort of clay that makes the stickiest mud known to man after a rain and which clings like super glue from God to anything and everything it touches. If you are so foolish as to get it on yourself you’ll wind up tracking and leaving a trail of red goop everywhere you go for days afterwards to the delight of your family and friends. But I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and Lord knows I tried as I’ve wandered from one end of the country to the other. But Bedford has my heart and that’s where I’ve chosen to live my life today. In my free time when I’m not stuck in my studio making art I do love being outside gardening or hiking or just pestering the neighbors.

Every day I try to write something that’s original, entertaining, and half-way thoughtful here on my blog while sharing my happy-go-lucky attitude and zest for life. Quite often I don’t have the foggiest notion of what I’ll end up saying in a post. But, whatever I end up writing about, I do hope you enjoy it!

I do keep a mailing list for interested readers and fans. If you would like to get in on the action and follow my musings and rabble-babble, that can be easily arranged. Just give me an email address that you would like for me to send my blog posts to and I’ll see that you get it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Bryan Skinnell

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