📊 Poll: What is the BEST holiday?

Some fun news to start? Well, I don't see why not...

I'm releasing an ebook + audio book bundle in January called Home Less in Dallas 😬😬😬😬😬😬

It's a collection of 8 true, short stories about a time in my life where I was chasing the dream of becoming a writer far before I was ready to attain it.

As the title suggests, things eventually went south for me. But it wasn't without some funny, inspirational, and flat out weird stuff happening along the way.

These are the stories of how I earned my stripes with nothing to lose. This is my second published book (Grits & Gospel Vol. 1: Soul Fuel, 2018)

Alright y'all. We finna have a debate. And, when I say "debate", that just means I am once again choosing violence in your inbox. When I say "we", I mean there's a poll so that I'm not talking to myself. And when I say "finna", I mean right now. Let's go.
 

The temperatures have dropped, the days are as short as they've ever been, and I have enough Amazon boxes in my foyer (pronounced foy-yay) to build a fort for an entire Boy Scout troop. And that can mean only one thing.... HOLIDAY SEASON!
 

Folks everywhere are getting their Christmas and Hanukah and Kwanzaa on right about now, and it's got me thinking — what is the BEST holiday?
 

Looking around my living room, it's easy to say 🎄Christmas 🎄. It means family, decorations, and some time off of work to recharge for many of us, and those are good things. Christmas could be anyone's favorite holiday, and no one would bat an eye.

But what if I told you that ⚾️ Opening Day of the MLB season ⚾️ in the spring was better? I mean, why not? I played baseball for over 15 years, and it's nothing like welcoming the turning of the seasons with the most classic of pastimes.

But... this ain't all about me, remember? You have a say, too.

When I asked my son, he said his favorite holiday is 🎇 4th of July 🎇 "because it has fireworks, and we get to eat a lot".

My fiancee has always been pretty fond of 🍾 New Years Eve 🍾 , and I have an auntie that celebrates her 🎂 Birthday 🎂 for like 3 straight weeks every Fall.

❤️ Valentines Day 💔 is pretty cool too. If nothing else, it gives us all reasons to drink 🤷🏽‍♂️. Whether you're happy to have a special someone, or sad that you don't, there's a restaurant or bar full of people that feel the exact same way as you do.

Ohhh, what about 🗺 Columbus Day 🗺 ? Ok, I know what you're thinking, probably not something most of us still celebrate at our big ages, but a lot of schools do 🍂 Fall Break 🍂 around that time nowadays, which is a nice, mid-semester hiatus for kids and their families. Gotta love it.

And speaking of breaks, what about 👙 Spring Break 🩳?! DUH! I have a few friends from an old trip to Miami that may put that at the top of their lists, and I'm sure they are not alone.

👔 Fathers' Day 👔 ?

💐 Mothers' Day 💐?

🪦 Memorial Day 🪦 ?

All excellent holidays to celebrate important and impactful people everywhere.
💍 Wedding Anniversary 💍 ? Same deal here—celebrating important people. Annnnd, speaking of wearing white, 😎 Labor Day 😎 brings the heat every... single.... year.

There's 🏈 Super Bowl Sunday 🏈, and 🏀 NBA All-Star Weekend 🏀 if you're looking for a sports fix with friends. Also, there's 🍀 St. Patrick's Day 🍀, 👻 Halloween 👻, and 🥳 Cinco de Mayo 🥳 where people everywhere have an excuse to act a damn fool, and be whoever TF they wanna be for a day. We got options, people.

✊🏽 Juneteenth ✊🏽 is forever special for Black folks, as is 🗓 Black History Month 🗓, and the aforementioned 🕯Kwanzaa 🕯. They are the ONLY true, Black American holidays on the calendar, so why not pick those?

And let's not forget about the 📚First and Last day of School 📚 every year, which can be amazing days, depending on how bad your city's rush hour traffic is during the school year, OR how much money you spend on summer camps.

Shit, to be honest, every day we wake up is a holiday... you got options, baby.!What's your flavor? Speak your piece.

I know mine... can you guess it? 😋

Don't overthink this. 

For Lack of a Wetter Bird, 🦃 Thanksgiving 🦃 is the best holiday on the calendar.

Alright, your turn... let's have some fun with this. I'll post the results in the next FLoaWB issue. Oh, and I hope you enjoy Home Less in Dallas!

📢 Special Shout Out...

... to Tony H. of Auburn, GA and his favorite cousin Rhonda 👋🏽! Many of you responded to last issue's "favorite cousin" prompt, but this picture absolutely took the cake.

We're going to keep the love going for 3 random poll takers/responders for this issue as well. SO be sure to weigh in before the years over.

Thanks to everyone who supported Kindred'd Christmas Classics holiday cards the last month or so. The collection SOLD OUT and that's in no small part to this crew.

P.S. You should tell your friends about this newsletter and send them this link. Yes, yes that would be quite excellent of you.