Merry Christmas

And On The Twenty-First Christmas . . . .

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Twenty Christmases had already gone by. Although I was much too young to remember the first one, several others were special as when I received a Radio Flyer coaster wagon and found a Schwinn bicycle under the tree. 

Those memories of lights, tinsel, and colorfully wrapped presents crowded my mind, became a wonderful and timeless blur. Yet, as special and varied as all those previous Christmases had been, none of them prepared me for the 21st one.

The timing could hardly have been worse. Only a dozen weeks before, I had been abruptly lifted from the niceties and comforts of … Read the rest “And On The Twenty-First Christmas . . . .”

The Twin Holiday Gold Standard

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Of all the holidays we celebrate throughout the year, the two most prominent are Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

That’s not to say any or all the others aren’t important. They definitely are because in some form or fashion each of them either supports or stems from the origin and meaning exemplified in Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

It is in that context that in their own ways Thanksgiving and Christmas have combined to become what we might call the gold standard of all observances and holidays.

There is disagreement as to whether the first Thanksgiving really did occur in November and whether Jesus … Read the rest “The Twin Holiday Gold Standard”

Christmas: Past, Present, And Always

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Ask anyone, particularly if they are much older, and they will tell you how special Christmas is and has always been to them.

Through listening to their stories plus those you could add, it’s easy to think of Christmas as a wondrous mix of such ingredients as music, decorating a Christmas tree, giving and receiving gifts, having good food and drink, taking the kids to see Santa Claus, and sharing stories and good times against the large and forever relevant backdrop of celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Put it all together and we begin to more fully understand and more … Read the rest “Christmas: Past, Present, And Always”

Sharing The Spirit With Strangers

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It was a usual humdrum coffee break in the company snack shop. The only bright spot in the plain and all too familiar surroundings was a small and scrawny but brightly lit Christmas tree. As intended, it reminded everybody it was time to get into the spirit.

As for me, I didn’t mind all the rushing around and wondering what presents to buy for whom, or even the challenge of finding the time to get everything done before Christmas Eve.

It was writing the Christmas cards that got to me. They were nice to receive, but a chore to get … Read the rest “Sharing The Spirit With Strangers”

On A Special Stage At Christmas

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Our immediate future could hardly have been more bleak.

We were less than halfway through military basic training during an unusually wet, cold, and bleak Arkansas winter.

Even worse, in three weeks most of us, including me, would be spending our first Christmas away from home, family, and friends. It was no wonder we just wanted to get Christmas over and done with as soon as possible.

As it turned out, however, it wouldn’t be that way for me and the other nineteen guys who had volunteered to sing in the Camp Chaffee chapel choir.

Captain Cuthbert, the chaplain, was … Read the rest “On A Special Stage At Christmas”

The Little Wooden Wagon

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Early in the cold, windy, and gray darkness of a December morning, my dad quietly closed the back door of the small farmhouse. Then snugging the collar of the long overcoat tightly around his neck, he began walking west on the gravel road.

Along the way, he couldn’t help but think that in normal times, none of what he was doing would’ve been necessary. Everything had been going along so well, then with numbing reality, the country became tightly gripped by the Great Depression. Christmas was coming, yet he and millions of others across the U.S. were out of work.… Read the rest “The Little Wooden Wagon”