It's An Offer I Can't Refuse
In a famous line from "The Godfather, Part III," Al Pacino's tragic character, Michael Corleone, says, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

Michael was talking about his crime family, but he could just as well have been talking about being a staff member in my office.

Everyone here seems innocent enough. You think they're your friends, but then, like the Mob, they stick it to you, bringing in tins of cookies and trays of squares and too many candy canes to count. They make it almost impossible to pass on anything, and if you do manage to do so without offending anyone, your past will always haunt you.

"But I remember last year when you plowed through my Granny's Hello Dolly squares; that's why I slaved over them last night!"

It's not like they haven't seen my skin stretching to accommodate my ever-increasing bulk this past year. They have opened the fridge and seen my rabbit-food lunches. The cubby of my desk is a shrine to All Things Low-Fat. I even jumped through about 100 hoops to order a special pedometer from the States for my walking.

No, it's Christmas. All bets are off.

Posted at 10:52 a.m.