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It Happened to Me

My Best Christmas Story

Crab louse in a "Santa" hat

Whenever I’m asked “What’s your best Christmas story?” I always tell this one. I posted it on this blog back in December 2002 under the title The Best Christmas Present Ever. For reasons that you will discover soon enough, it’s not likely to be adapted into a made-for-TV Christmas special any time soon – at least not on the major networks. Enjoy!

Recognized (December 2002)

I was in a store on Queen Street West that specialized in the kind of funky clothing that appealed to club-goers and the snowboard/skateboard set, looking for cheap presents for my cousins. The manager saw me and asked “You don’t still have crabs, do ya?”

It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about.

“No, I don’t,” I replied, “that was my friend.”

Riiiiiight.

I’m going to kill his ass, I thought.

The Frantic Phone Call (December 1998)

Nokia mobile phone, circa 1998

Four years prior, I was at the same store, buying a sweater for my cousin. While standing in line waiting for my turn at the cashier, I got a phone call.

“Joey, I need your help!” said the voice on the other end. It was my friend — whom I’ll call “X” — and his voice was panicked.

“What happened?”

“OhMyGodIThinkIGotCrispyCrittersFromTheBathroomAtThisReallyCoolGayBarInNewYorkWhenIWas
VisitingMyBoyfriendAndTheyReallyItchAnd…”

His voice was so loud that I had to hold the phone a couple of inches away from my ear.

“You got what?” I asked. “Crispy Critters? Is that fried chicken? What the hell are you talking about?”

CrispyCrittersJoey!” he repeated, still speaking a mile a minute. “IMean…” and then he slowed down to enunciate every word: “I…HAVE…CRABS!

He said it loudly enough for everyone around to hear, at which point they all took a step away from me. The cashier — who today is the manager — grimaced at me.

“Hey, I don’t have crabs, my friend does,” I said to her.

Friend, huh?” she said incredulously.

X was still rattling a mile a minute on the phone.

“JoeyYouHaveToHelpMeItItchesLikeCrazyAndICan’tAffordTheCreamCanYouLendMeSomeMoney
ItItchesItItchesItItches!

He was phoning me from a pay phone near the Eaton Centre, not far from where I was. I arranged to meet him at the large fountain on the bottom floor, as it was near a Shoppers Drug Mart where we could buy the anti-crablouse goo.

I hung up and noticed that everyone — the people in line as well as the cashier — were giving me funny looks and keeping their distance. The cashier took my credit card the with the tips of her thumb and index finger, holding it as if I’d handed her a very full week-old diaper.

Damned X, I thought to myself. He gets the STD and I get the “unclean” treatment.

Rendezvous

The Eaton Centre fountain and surroundings

Minutes later, I was walking towards the Eaton Centre fountain. X ran towards me, ready to give me a hug when I stuck out my left arm, firmly placing my hand on his chest.

“Can we skip the hug while you’re still a travelling flea circus?”

“Oh yeah.”

“I know that there’s some kind of cream for it, but I don’t know what it’s –”

“Slut-o-cillin.” (That’s not the real name of the cream; I just can’t remember what it was).

“You sound awfully familiar with the treatment.”

“Oh, I’ve had them before.”

“Of course.”

Ooh…Pants!

On the way to the drugstore, we passed by a store that had a sale on pants.

“Hey,” said X “before we go to the drugstore, can I try these on?”

I threw him a look that said Have you completely lost your mind?

“Oh yeah.”

I Hope You Know That This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Credit Record

Credit card "swiping machine"

The pharmacist was young and easygoing, but concerned about me. “He might not be the only one who needs slut-o-cillin. If you’ve had sex with him recently…”

“Oh, he’s tried,” I said, “but no, I’m just buying it for him.”

“That’s a little…unusual. I mean, I thought that because you were buying it for him that you were…ummm…together.”

“Oh no,” X said. “Joey’s such a breeder. You know he says he’s never had a cock in his mouth? Not even once?

“Keep that up and there’ll be no cream for you, fleabag.” I muttered.

The pharmacist rang up the bill; the slut-o-cillin cost thirty dollars. I had a twenty in my wallet. “How would you like to pay, sir?” asked the pharmacist.

“Uh, is there a bank machine nearby?”

“All out of cash. I tried getting some on my break.”

“Let’s try Interac then.” I handed him my bank card and he swiped it in the debit machine. We failed to get a connection to the bank computer. With the Christmas rush, the lines were all tied up.

“Do you have a credit card, sir?” he asked.

“Yes, but I’m…uh…really trying to avoid putting this particular order…aw, hell. Take it.”

I turned to X. “If this credit card purchase ever ends up haunting me, I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Merry Christmas, Fleabag

Before we parted ways and I headed home, X turned to me and spoke.

“I know I’m a pain in the ass a lot of times, but I wanted to say thanks. I don’t know too many people who’d do this for me.”

“You’re welcome. Just try not to get into this kind of trouble all the time, willya?”

I reached into my wallet, pulled out the twenty and gave it to him.

“Use this to wash all your clothes and your sheets too. In hot water. Maybe not in your usual laundromat, ’cause you’re not going to win any popularity contests.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the best Christmas present ever.

That little bit of gratitude made it all worthwhile. If he weren’t such an ant farm, I’d have given him a hug.

And a Merry Christmas to You Too, Gentle Reader!

Whether you celebrate it with bells on, or don’t celebrate it at all, have a safe, happy and infestation-free holiday.

Categories
Play

Sketchy Santas

In addition to Santa, NO!, there’s another blog of funny/sad Santa photos called Sketchy Santas. Here are a few of my favourite entries…

I call this one “Playground Candyman Santa”, and wonder if the poor kid ended up in therapy:

sketchy santa 1

I lived in the Philippines from age 3 to 7 and hence my memories of Santa are based on how he’s portrayed there. Even there, the image of “Santa” is of the fat white guy in a red suit that was popularized by Coca-Cola ads, so they hired white guys who happened to be there and who needed the extra money. As a result, my mental image of Santa is often cloudied by memories of sweaty guys with Australian accents reeking of Tanduay rum. Hence I find the photo below comforting rather than creepy:

sketchy santa 2

If you don’t rat anyone out, Goodfellas Santa will give you something byoo-tee-full for Christmas:

sketchy santa 3

Hey, Santa, watch where you’re putting that left hand!

sketchy santa 4

I’ve nicknamed this guy “Harry Dean Stanta”:

sketchy santa 5

and finally, Santa shouldn’t have cold serial-killer eyes:

sketchy santa 6

Categories
Play

“Santa, NO!”

Santa, NO! is a hilarious blog featuring images of Santa in less-than-fortunate situations. Here are a few recently-posted favourites of mine:

01 santa no

 02 santa no

03 santa no

04 santa no

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Uncategorized

Off for the Holidays

The aftermath of a Santa/U.F.O. collision with Santa filing a report and the cops hauling an alien away

It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve got a lot of family stuff to do over the next couple of days. You never know, I just might get the chance to sneak in a blog entry or two, but I’m going to play it safe and say that The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century (and its nerdier, little sister blog, Global Nerdy) will return on Monday, December 29th.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Joyous Festivus, Happy Holidays – however you choose to spend the next couple of days, stay safe, enjoy yourself, and I’ll see you soon!