"Merry Christmas"?

About a week ago, I mentioned that I was bothered by my hairdresser wishing me a Merry Christmas. She had no idea which holidays (if any) I celebrate, and the assumption that I would like a Christian greeting is a bit...limited.
So I was surprised to see a poll today in a Virginia newspaper that mentioned that 65% of the respondents were offended if they weren't wished a Merry Christmas. Strange. I mean, they're in Virginia, which is kind of near D.C., and - 65% would be offended?

who is little Zachary?

I'm listening to Christmas songs tonight. In "A Baby Just Like You", who on earth is little Zachary? Presumably John Denver's son, but I've never known.
I've spent much of December lamenting the loss of my Jon Anderson Three Ships CD, which features some of the most earnest Christmas music ever. I like earnest Christmas music; that's why I enjoy Boney M's holiday CD so much. But Jon Anderson (unlike Boney M) isn't available on CD at all, at all. Oh, no, wait! As I was typing, I was playing around with YouTube and vixy (see below) and saw a note that Three Ships might indeed be available. Yippee!
So I was madly chuffed to come across http://www.vixy.net, which converts YouTube videos into MP3 files! See, a few Jon Anderson songs from Three Ships are on YouTube.
Best of all, this means I can get the audio file for "Casting for Dogs", one of my current obsessions. (Thanks to Jim for posting about on his blog - I never would have found it otherwise).

more about my hairdresser

Today I was in a mood to get things done, and I needed a haircut, so even though I need to switch hairdressers, I went back to my old one. It's right by where I live, after all.
I got the same hairdresser as last time, to my chagrin.
I'd gotten my hair cropped about an inch and a half long all around ("shingled" is the old-fashioned term, I think) about a year ago, so I'm still growing out some of the layers. In the back, of course, it had gotten quite long, and I wanted it cut to my hairline. Not quite a straight bob, because of the last few layers that need to grow out, but close.
But for whatever reason, I couldn't get the hairdresser to grasp what I wanted. Probably because, when it was done, it looked awful. She'd cut it with a center part; I flip it from side to side all day, so I didn't want it cut with a side part. The phrase "retarded Dutch doll" was bandied about tonight (yeah, I know - pardon the phrase, but one needs all the pejorative connotations to describe the hairstyle), hours later, as I showed what it looked like immediately after cutting, with the awful center part.
So our conversation went like this:
Hairdresser: So, what should I do?
Me: Cut it in the back, to the hairline.
Hairdresser: Cut it straight across?
Me: Yep.
Hairdresser: You won't have layers.
Me: I'm growing them out.
Hairdresser: You want it cut straight across in the back?
Me: Yep.
Hairdresser (pulling out a large hairstyling book, which featured the words "Passion! Beauty!" and some dreadful, overdyed, badly styled hair on the front cover): Show me in here what you want.
Me (not bothering to open the book): I want the back cut to the hairline, like a bob.
Hairdresser, doubtfully: It will be more than an inch that I cut off.
Me: I was expecting it to be two or three. It's fine.

And it was fine, despite her horror at how it looked when she was done. She had put product (!) in my hair and blow-dried it, neither of which I ever do at home. Once she finished, I flipped it around a few times, put on a headband, and it looked fine.
By the way, she continued the inappropriate-at-work Christian vibe by wishing me a merry Christmas as I left.
So - I need a new hairdresser!