The Lovely Girlfriend played a song for me over the holiday… Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey. Funny song. But it’ll stick with you like a bad meal from a greasy diner.

It stuck in my head the first day I heard it. I thought I was done with it. I hadn’t heard the song for a number of days, but there it is again. Chingedy ching. That’s how infectious it is. aggghhhhhh. Hee-haw.

DOMINICK THE DONKEY (THE ITALIAN CHRISTMAS DONKEY)
(Allen / Merrell / Saltzberg)
Lou Monte - 1967

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Santa’s got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisons,
With Dominick he’ll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Jingle bells around his feet,
And presents on the sled.
Hey! Look at the mayor’s derby,
On top of Dominick’s head.
A pair of shoes for Louie,
And a dress for Josephine.
The labels on the inside says,
They’re made in Brooklyn.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Children sing, and clap their hands,
And Dominick starts to dance.
They talk Italian to him,
And he even understands.

Cumpare sing,
Cumpare su,
And dance ’sta tarantel.
When jusamagora comes to town,
And brings du ciuccianello.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Hey! Dominick! Buon Natale!
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)

I just have to say that if you are in Austin and love great coffee, you must check out Summermoon Coffee Bar. They are located in South Austin on South First street just about a 1/2 mile north of Ben White/290. I personally love the hot chocolate more than anything! :-)

I’m awake.
Sort of.
My head hurts.
There’s a storm coming in.
The sky is gray through my window.
The changing weather makes my head hurt.
I’m asleep again.
Dreaming about work.
I’ve been stressed.
The snooze alarm is going off again.
I’m awake.
Sort of.

My cat is looking at me
with one eye open.
I think she is wondering,
“Will there be food
if I leave the warmth
of this bed?” Of course,
I assume she wonders about such things
in the same way that I might and is able
to think about such things in English
instead of let’s say French or such.

I must be asleep again.

Dreaming of cats who wonder about warmth,
comfort, and the role France plays in the
ever-growing economy of the European Union.

Snooze is going off again.
I’m awake.
I’m late for work.
I scramble to find a pair of matching socks.
Pants, shirt, shoes, wallet, cell phone.
My girlfriend is calling on the phone.
I’ll call her back when I’m in the car.
I love it when she calls in the morning.
A smile.

I’m out the door and heading to my car
when I remember that I need to pay my bills today.
The bills are in the bag which I have left behind.
Back into the apartment.
My cat is asleep again.
Dreaming and wondering in French.
Maybe.

Back out of the apartment with my bills and my bag.
On the way to work.
Traffic is heavy this morning.
I’m going to be even more late to work
than I had thought.
My head still hurts.
The sky is so gray.
It looks grayer than it did through my window.

I’m listening to a voicemail from my girlfriend.
I call her to say, “Good morning.”
She is so lovely.
We talk as I maneuver through the traffic.
Eleven more days until Christmas.
We chat about plans for tonight.
We speak about the Christmas cards which we have not
yet finished, about friends, weekend plans,
about birthdays, and the weather.
I tell her I love her.
I’ll speak with her again this afternoon.
I say goodbye.
I’m almost to work.
Pulling into the parking lot.
I hope this headache goes away soon.
I take a deep breathe.

The weatherman on the radio says there will be
thunderstorms this afternoon.

Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65 (at CNN)

Check out his website. Especially the MP3s on the Media page. [Warning: The clips might offend you.]

A number of bridges and roadways in the area are covered with a thin layer of ice this morning. Thin but still thick enough to send cars and trucks sliding off the road. I saw a number of vehicles in ditches and on medians this morning on my way into work.

Most schools have shut down. This apparently in response to a night of feverish prayer from thousands of area children. Many businesses are minimally staffed today.

I could have come into work much earlier this morning. The roads between my apartment and workplace were not heavily iced except for on the bridges. Of course, when I’m in a warm bed thinking to myself that no one else has probably made it in yet, I find that there is little incentive to go in early.

I’m here for a little bit longer than I’m heading home by 2 p.m. Not really because the roads are going to ice again (which they might), but I am going home because I can.

I think the Lovely Girlfriend and I are having chili tonight! Yum!

*I don’t have time to make a cool Ice Storm 2005 logo. I would if I had the time. I also would if last night’s ice and cold weather actually warranted a really cool logo, but I don’t think it does. The weather here is in the low 30s and upper 20s over the next day or so. It was 83 last week. It’ll be back into the upper 60s next week. Welcome to Texas weather!