Luv Doc Recommends: Project Transitions’ Holiday Swing

Like it or not, the holiday season officially began at around 6am the day after Thanksgiving – that being the wee hour when all the Wal-Marts, Targets, Kmarts, and whatnots decided to open their doors on the largest shopping day of the year. No doubt countless caffeine-cranked rubes were there even earlier: oily noses smudged against the windows, fogging up the glass with Starbucks breath in eager anticipation of “special holiday pricing.” Strange that not even the promise of eternal salvation and a one-way ticket to meet the reason for the season can roll most folks out of bed before ten on a Sunday, but knock a few nickels off a Game Boy and they’re up before the rooster crows. Nonetheless, regardless of their staggering incongruities, the holidays are here – maybe just not for you. Maybe only true Christian soldiers can summon the courage to stifle their disgust, disbelief, and depression at the prospect of three more weeks of unrelenting yuletide schmaltz. Maybe we are being tested. No, definitely we are being tested. Any gauntlet that involves the smell of Karmelkorn, flashing holiday-themed Bobby Brooks sweaters, and the dulcimer strains of Burl Ives is clearly designed to separate the wheat from the chaff, spiritually speaking. Maybe surviving the holidays without developing an eye twitch is a modern-day biblical test of patience, forgiveness, and charity. Maybe, despite all of the fuss and distraction, you need to keep your eye on the ball. This Saturday that ball is Project Transitions’ Holiday Swing, a yearly fundraiser for people living with HIV/AIDS. One of the most charming aspects of the Holidays is the profusion of events where you can get dressed up, liquored up, and shaken down for a good cause. PT’s Holiday Swing is one of the best – for both the charity and the celebration. This year’s Swing features big-band dancing with the Sentimental Journey Orchestra, heavy hors d’ouevres, and a wicked, huge silent auction where you can design your own “special holiday pricing.”