Hope all y'all did your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday or some other damn day before the Ides of December!

Better think long and hard about that last-minute thing...

...you need to be setting aside some lumps of coin to pay your first installment on January 18th, the second due on February 19th.

Plus...

...plan on paying the minimum on those credit cards for all those holiday purchases.

I could go on and on as usual, but what the hell...

...it's that death and taxes thing.

Look at the "happy" part...

...unlike the last few years, you don't have to pay the first installment the week BEFORE Christmas. Talk about a Jingle Bell buster!

Once upon a time...

...we merry Alexander Countyites received our property tax statements in August, payable in September and October.

For whatever reason, the powers that be have decided tis more jolly to mess with the season.

Hey, maybe it's Santa!

Maybe Mr. Claus is into the 1%-99% thing...

...maybe he's concerned with his profit margins.

Maybe the evil elves or the effing reindeer unionized and Santa decided to get even and decimate their number.

Maybe Mr. Claus contacted Alexander County (and others?):

"Send out your property tax statements prior to the holiday and give the good taxpayers a reason to be naughty...

...so I can strike them off my delivery list!"

Okay, okay...

...I'm sorry.

Working for Cairo School District Number One for all those years made me a bit paranoid.

I shall don my gay apparel (and don't you even go there!)...

...complete with shiny tinfoil hat!

I haven't done a song of the day for awhile.

To "pay tribute" to Alexander County, I offer the following by The Beatles: