Break.

family, friends, and foes,

on the behalf of the willard house we would like to wish you a happy holiday season. you are probably thinking, oh thats sweet jackson, we hope you have a happy holiday season as well, what all are you going to be doing over break? well since you asked, ill tell...



currently over break, to be honest, i have not done much. i had gotten a call from honey baked ham a week ago asking me to report for the holiday season, however, when they found out that their loyal employee would not be able to work on christmas eve they thought it was only fair not to give me any hours. yes i am bitter. with that being said, continue to buy there hams, they are delicious. after realizing that i would not be working i had to find something to do all day rather than just be a bum around the house. and i have struggled with that. my days have consisted of reading, watching tv, and yea thats it. not that im complaining, but i would like to find something to do. and no i promise i will not be doing this all break long. for years my mom has dreamed of spending christmas on a cruise ship somewhere in the middle of the ocean. after years of begging, we are finally doing just that. on wednesday morning at 5am my family and i will drive to richmond to board an airplane to fly to flo-rida where we will hop in the ship. ironically the movie titanic was on the other night and i caught myself watching it. it doesnt help that my name is jack as well. we will be cruising for 5 days in which one of those days we will be in the bahamas and another day in jamaica. i have never been on a cruise before so im pretty unsure on what people actually do. one would assume there is fun stuff to do on a cruise ship. i often view cruises for old people or small children. maybe i will have a taste of both of those lives this week. speaking of old people...



im not that big if fan of the show survivor but i often catch myself watching the 2 hour finale they have at the end of the season. the whole concept of the show is intriguing. however, im skeptical on how much they endure the harsh reality of living in the wild. someone once told me that wherever they stay there is always like a resort on the other side of the "uncharted island". with that being said, the theme of this season was old people vs young people. one of the old people on the show was jimmy johnson who is an ex nfl coach and player. he is 67 years old. now why would a 67 year old dude what to be on survivor? your guess is as good as mine. but i was reading this book the other day that said, "youth is not a period of time. it is a state of mind." with a majority of us being in college we face the reality of "growing up" everyday we wake up (ex. doug just graduated and john turned 20 today). and i would argue that like peter pan we dont have to grow older if we dont want to. just like jimmy j wanted to compete against people under half his age for a million bucks he didnt need. as most of us spend this holiday season at home, or on a cruise, and act as if christmas isnt cool anymore, lets allow ourselves to change and become like little children and have some fun. i love you all and will hopefully have pictures from the cruise to share.

final note:
"you will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, and great; receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature and God."

announcement:
the willard house will be going to new york city to ring in the new year. if you dont have any plans and would love to come hop on the bandwagon. dont ask questions, just come. and yes snooki will be there inside the ball and mike "the situation" and dj pauly d will be there leading us in setting the world record for most people fist pumping at once in one location.

love,
jackson