A Honky Tonk Christmas

I know I may alienate some people here, but I’m going to say it anyway…

I hate country music.

No, I’m not a music snob. I don’t like opera either, and the only excuse for listening to Abba music is to mock it. I think I’m well-balanced.

So you can imagine the pain I’ve suffered this Christmas being forced to listen to Christmas country music. Yes, forced. When you’re riding in a car in Nairobi, other ride options are poor, so I listen.

Here’s a sample:  It’s called “Honky Tonk Christmas.”  The first line of the chorus is, “It’s going to be a honky tonk Christmas…”  Now, I have to confess, I have no idea what “honky tonk” means, but somehow I just know that the phrase “honky tonk” and “Christmas” do not belong together in the same line.

All this aside, it’s been a lovely Christmas in Nairobi with brother Jon and wife Cher, and their son Josh and family – Audra, Raeleigh and Gabe. Josh works for Wycliffe and has lived in Nairobi for 5 years. The weather has been a perfect sunny 75-80 degrees F, with occasional rain in the evenings. It’s good to be with family. My other options involved the grim prospect of spending it alone or with acquaintances.

I need to be with family on Christmas, so I tolerate the “honky tonk” music.

And we probably had a “honky tonk” Christmas.

And I’m thinking I should look up “honky tonk” because I may just have the definition completely wrong. Perhaps some country-music fan out there can enlighten me…if you’re still speaking to me.

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And now… a quickie photo collage from our Kenya holiday:

Christmas in Nairobi with Jon, Cher, Josh, Audra, Raeleigh, Gabe, and a baby hedgehog named Squeaky (sleeping on Jon).

Fraser was the pilot for Garamba National Park in Congo for 22 years but is now living in Nairobi in a beautiful house that is next to a conservatory of some sort. Wild warthogs come over to his property looking for food, and a few have become so tame that they eat out of his hands, let him rub their tummy, and one has learned to “sit.” We spent the afternoon at his house, getting up-close-and–personal with the warthogs.

One warthog decided I had some food and came up twice while I shot photos, planting his nose right on my lens. Thank God he didn’t find it tasty.On another lunch visit with some friends outside Nairobi, Colobus Monkeys came down low in the trees. These stunning monkeys look like they are wearing exotic fur coats and feather boas.Jon and Josh were obsessed with finding chameleons on the property, and rounded up about five of a variety they don’t usually see.We spent some time at a horse race, getting our faces painted, riding camels. Good fun.

We spent an afternoon at a small water park in Nairobi. This was my very first water park, and it was a blast. I didn’t get good photos, so decided to do mostly the feet shots here, and one of Jon, Gabe, and Josh trying to get warm after being wet for so long.