Christmas Steve

Not everyone greets Christmas with a sparkling smile and open arms.

I have no reason to believe the character Randy Stonehill created in his song, "Christmas at Denny's," is named Steve, but it makes for a semi-clever title for this post.

And the song makes for an empathetic look at a certain demographic not having a holly, jolly Christmas this year.

They got Christmas Muzak

Piped in through the ceiling

And the refills of coffee

Are always for free

And the waitress on graveyard

And the surly night manager

They're wishing that all of us losers would leave

There's a star on the sign

At the Texaco Station

Like the star long ago

On that midnight clear

As I look all around

At these cold, empty faces

I doubt that you'd find many wise men here

And I'm dreaming about

A silent night

Holy night

When things were all right

And I'm dreaming about

How my life could have been

If only, if only, if only...

But somewhere down the road

I gave up that fight

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Once I had a home

And a wife and a daughter

Had a company job

Earning middle-class pay

Then Lisa got killed

By a car near the schoolyard

And my wife started drinking

Just to get through each day

I will never forget that little red wagon

Turning to rust all alone in the rain

One morning I flagged down

A truck on the highway

I just couldn't bear to go back there again

And I'm dreaming about

A silent night

Holy night

When things were all right

And I'm dreaming about

How my life could have been

If only, if only, if only...

Well, it's not just the blind man

Who loses his sight

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

And they say

Life's made of cruel circumstance

Fate plays the tune and we dance

Dance till we drop

In the dust and we're gone

And the world just goes on

The cop at the counter

He's the guardian angel

He watches these orphans

Through dark, mirrored shades

And the register rings

Like a bell sadly tolling

For the fools we've become

And the price that we paid

Oh when I was a boy

I believed in Christmas

Miracle season to make a new start

I don't need no miracle, sweet baby Jesus

Just help me find

Some kind of hope in my heart

And I'm dreaming about

A silent night

Holy night

When things were all right

And I'm dreaming about

How my life could have been

If only, if only, if only...

But I'll still be here

At the morning's first light

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

©1982 King of Hearts Music

https://youtu.be/d9MRl2tLnKU

Truth is...if you're feeling like Steve this year, maybe all you really need right now is the knowledge that you are not alone in your pain. There are people who understand. Maybe that's a good enough first step toward finding some kind of hope in your heart.