“While rashness is a crime, boldness is not incompatible with caution. Nay, it is often the quintessence of prudence.”

—Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, CSA, General Order No. 26, 1863

Am I bold? I sometimes accuse myself of velleity, and certainly others may have thought my ways to fall into a category of timidity. Do I strike while the iron’s hot? Usually not. And if I do, I regret that action. Shoulda waited. So here we are in Christmastime, and I am again the other half of the Grand Dichotomy—the Xcrooge half. I will pay my devotions to heaven, and curse mammon all the while. Curse you, Mammon, in your department stores and big box stores and catalogues and commercials. Curse you all wrapped up in pretty ugly wrapping paper. Come, January, bring me relief. I sink in my own cursings.