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The Night Before The Night Before
I’m almost as busy as Santa, so I’m keeping this lively and quick…
Use It Or Lose It
What love we’ve given, we’ll have forever. What love we fail to give, will be lost for all eternity. ~Leo Buscaglia
Love is the only commodity that is limitless. You’ll never run out of it unless you stop cultivating it.
It’s not a difficult crop to harvest. It generally sprouts up on its own like bamboo or kudzu. It’s as natural as air and every bit as necessary.
We’re not necessarily talking about ooey-gooey romantic love. We’re talking about loving your neighbor as yourself. We’re talking about having basic human respect. Just be nice, fergawdzakes.
It’s Christmastime. Don’t be such a piker…
Twas
Art Carney – ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (1954)
There are a LOT of versions of how this has been told over the years, but I always get a kick out of this one.
The thing that always kind of blows my mind is that Clement Clark Moore‘s estate in Chelsea used to be just about as out in the boonies rural as my personal locale.
It’s not even halfway up Manhattan. The island is now a solid city from the southernmost tip to its northern neighbors in the Bronx.
You can still find the house that inspired this seasonal poem, but it’s not out in the sticks anymore. It’s not even as far north as Central Park
Christmas Shopping
Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection. ~Pindar
Since I actually had money this year, I was able to put a fair amount of thought into the gifts I was going to be giving to my wife and kids for Christmas. I also put some thought into doing a fake-out on the packaging.
I saved cereal boxes, bottles, cannisters and other non-traditional containers for the wrapping of Christmas gifts. I’m fully expecting to get a lot of WTF-looks as they unwrap their presents. That’s half the joy of doing it. The other half is seeing the relief on their faces when they find that I haven’t merely given them a box of discount oatmeal or a jar of chocolate icing (or did I?).
I like to give gifts that are practical, but I love to give gifts that make the recipient happy. Hopefully, I’ve hit both marks this time around. We’ll find out on Friday morning.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 crazy!
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good–night.“