‘Well, this year I have asked Santa for a Big Swinger Polaroid Camera,’ Billy B said. ‘Neva J informed me that money is tight and that I should not get my hopes up,’ Billy B continued. ‘I failed to mention that I was hoping for some Rock-Um-Sock-Um-Robots as well,’ Billy B noted with a downcast stare.

‘You know the Rock-Em-Sock-Em-Robots are for smaller children,’ Chet asked? ‘I wanted them when I was younger but got a Daniel Boone Action Figure instead,’ Chet observed. ‘I like Daniel B better,’ Chet grinned.

‘In this corner is Red Rock weighing 200 pounds,’ the Announcer said. ‘His opponent is Blue Dog at 195 pounds,’ the Announcer continued. ‘In the Christmas Spirit they have chosen not to fight but to give Christmas gifts to needy children,’ the Announcer intoned.

‘Much of the year Blue Dog and I fight for our political beliefs with little thought for the children of our world,’ Red Rock said with a tear in his eye. ‘We are so concerned with winning and knocking each other Block-Off that we forget what we are fighting for,’ Red Rock said with feeling. ‘This year we must be the year of the children,’ Red Rock said.

‘All I look for is to see Red Rock’s Block rise above his body with the metallic squeak of victory,’ Blue Dog said. ‘However the sound of victory has become less satisfying through the years…nothing changes…we have the same problems of hunger and homelessness,’ Blue Dog said with sorrow. ‘There has to be a better way,’ Blue Dog said as if in prayer.

‘Oh my what happened,’ Billy B said with amazement. ‘Suddenly we were at a Boxing Match of the Rock-Em-Sock-Em-Robots and they were experiencing an Epiphany.

‘Stranger things have happened at Christmas,’ Chet advised with a wink…

‘You better watch out you better not cry…Santa Claus is coming to town.’ Our year is fast approaching its conclusion. As a young man, I enjoyed the fast passage of time. It seemed surreal to me. A workshift was like an hour and a workweek was like a day. I enjoyed my job and the hours flew by. This time of year spirits were high at SIUC. There were several days off with pay in store for us. Colleagues brought in all manner of sweet treats. Hope was at its zenith as I wore my long black coat around campus.

Working with young people keeps you young. The eyes were full of Christmas wonder. Students from around the world enjoyed Christmas at Southern. The University was Home. Everyone held a feeling of mission. Laughter filled the halls.

Christmas is a mystery. Its sights, sounds, smells and tastes are different from the rest of the year. The end of one year is the beginning of another. After the rest, there is good work to be done. People need to help. Making church better, working stronger, and making the home complete.

Aaron and Jonathon looked on…eyes of wonder and delight. Bruiser and Abigail tore up the Christmas paper. Possibilities abound. What comes next?

Daily trip to the Theatre between Christmas and New Year. The best movies were out. A Christmas Vacation was much like a Christmas we had experienced. After seeing the comedy classic Christmas was never the same…it was better…

Christmas is being a part of something big. I heard a program in the New York Times regarding variations of Christianity. The person advocated for ‘Thick Christianity.’ Christians endeavoring to imitate Jesus. People practice their bold faith by helping and forgiving others. He spoke of replacement constructs of life replacing Christianity such as MAGA and WOKE. The podcast noted that politics was a poor substitute for faith. Although he is an atheist he hoped for the bedrock principles of forgiveness and hope of Christ Teaching.

Laughing Santa says, ‘ One week to Christmas Eve. ‘The stockings are hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there.’ The song tells us it is beginning to look like Christmas everywhere you go…

There is a special mystical mysterious feeling in the air. We are different for a Season. The little things captivate our attention. Joy in the eyes of the young and young at heart. Renewed hope conviction purpose for our human family. The beginning of a dream that we do not want to awaken from.

We struggle and strive to obtain position and influence only to realize that our purpose is greater than the sum of our parts. The Christ Child awaits us in the manger. Meek and mild he beckons us to rethink our pursuit of money, power, and prestige. We are a soul in an earthen shell. If you have seen someone die you know that the loved one left the stage…all that is left is the theatre props.

Christmas sets us for the year…if we allow it to. Who can feel our demonstratable love? How can we help? Can we fill some empty stomachs? Jesus fed five thousand with a few loaves and fish. Perhaps we can replicate that miracle.

Activists become ensconced in privilege. Firebrands warm their feet by the crackling fire of their ornate fireplace. Let us not forget the loneliness of want.

I was pleased to find a section of my Apple Music. The title inspired this blog. Christmas joy is inspired by acts of kindness at Christmas.

Life seems to be moving forward. Change surrounds us while we are changing. Friends fall away while others are formed. Dreams anew during Advent. Could we be perpetually young hidden in a wrinkled shell?

MJ and I lit the Advent Candles yesterday. It had been many years since our last lighting in the Sanctuary. Memories of Aaron and Jonathon standing by our sides when we performed the candle ignition over 20 years ago were returned.

Christ is born again in our hearts. Hope for the hopeless. Comfort for the forlorn. The hidden are seen…the voiceless have a voice.

Bells are ringing…a call of renewal of Spirit a dedication to our fellow human family.

Toys will become old. Winter will work its magic. The focus will change. A trip through the woods in Santa’s Sleigh to invite the lonely to ride along is in order…

A star led the wise men to the manger to see the Baby Jesus. No big announcements in the Temple. No trumpets or fanfare for the coming of the Desire Of The Ages. Its surroundings were not prosperous. No golden chariots. Peace saturated the surroundings. From poor surroundings came a King by God’s definition.

My good friend Jeff tells me what the Native Americans said about a good day: A Good Day to Die. A thought that at first seems questionable…but it grows on you. So it goes with finding the nuances of Christmas.

Christmas is hidden in the eyes of others. Seeing the reflection of their dreams is inspiring. There are soft lights in the window. Joys from the past and hopes for the future. Begin again. We learn from our Christmases. Each builds upon the last. New life brings new hope.

Gifts given food shared time spent together. Who listens. When we hear another’s heart…we have received a marvelous gift.

‘Happy Holidays,’ said the Store Manager. ‘We know you have many choices in retail shopping and appreciate your patronage,’ Store Manager said with a plastered grin. ‘Here is a complimentary peppermint candy for your baby, SM said with a blank stare.

‘It just does not feel like Christmas this year,’ Jane said. ‘I look for it in the eyes of people I meet but mostly their eyes reveal anxiousness and stress,’ Jane continued. ‘There is so much to do and so little time to do it in,’ Jane bemoaned.

‘Come with me to St. Judes Hospital for their annual Christmas Cookie Sunday,’ Chet said. ‘The kids are wonderful with their parents drinking in their every move and gesture,’ Chet said with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘I have been going for several years it is the height of my Christmas Season,’ Chet said with a little dance…

‘You are so pretty,’ Little Girl said to Jane. ‘My doll has pretty hair like yours…I comb it every night,’ LG said. ‘I helped make the chocolate chip cookies…please help yourself,’ Little Girl offered with a beatific smile.

‘Are you Santa Claus,’ Little Boy asked? ‘Your belly is little and round like Santa,’ LB laughed. ‘If you are not Santa I bet you are one of his elves,’ Little Boy said with happy eyes.

‘Will you be my big sister,’ Little Girl asked Jane? ‘We could be pen pals,’ LG winked. ‘Will you sing a Christmas Carol with me,’ Little Girl asked…

‘Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child. Holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace…Sleep in heavenly peace…’

No time to wait…time to go. We are on our way. Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows if we have been naughty or nice. He is making a list and checking it twice. The rain is falling the lights are calling.

The sleigh is clean, the packages are brilliant, bells are ringing, songs are to be sung, and laughter fills the air. It’s a different world, annew focus.

A Christmas Cigar at the Cigar Bar. No ill thoughts, mean deeds, or hurtful words. The path is snow-covered. The Deer Family nods and smiles. The trees are decorated with icicles and snow—not the canned kind but the real thing. Bing Crosby is singing along the sled path. He is wearing a Santa Suit and smoking his pipe, with the smoke encircling his head like a wreath.

Cares be gone… Hope returns… Peace reigns…

The Desire Of The Ages is born in a manger.

‘Another year older and deeper in debt,’ Horace told Hermione. ‘Have you seen the price of eggs,’ Horace asked? ‘I asked SC for all the overtime he can give me,’ Horace noted.

‘Now Horace we have good jobs at the Toy Factory and you really do not care for eggs,’ Hermione soothed. ‘When I think of all the joy we bring I am satisfied,’ Hermione continued. ‘The Vandelays were laid off at the sled plant…I want us to ask them to go to Christmas dinner,’ Hermione suggested.

‘I never liked them very much,’ Horace said. ‘He seems a bit nose in the air to me,’ Horace observed. ‘Their sled is nicer than ours,’ Horace laughed.

‘Staff Meeting is 5 minutes,’ Elbert announced. ‘The Big Man wants to give us our last-minute instructions,’ Elbert said. ‘He says that we must do more with less,’ Elbert smiled…

‘Times have been tough since Covid,’ SC said. ‘Mrs. Claus and I had a bought of it…it was not fun,’ Santa frowned. ‘We must pull together and forget our petty differences…our mission begins with the poor and needy children of the world,’ SC bellowed! ‘Being hungry can befall any of us…food insecurity is real…homelessness is all around us,’ Santa said with tears in his eyes.

‘SC tell us about the special guests you are taking with you this Christmas Eve,’ Elbert said. ‘We have heard Taylor Swift or Beyonce…who want to bring joy and hope to the homeless children of the world,’ Hermione asked?

‘This Christmas Eve I will have two people who desperately need to see the dire state of the children,’ SC said with a wink…

Paducah is closing in. A second Black Friday journey. There was so much to do we did not get it all done. A Christmas treat Jennifer is joining us Saturday.

We must investigate the Cigar Bar thoroughly. It is like nothing I have seen. A place to rest and reflect. Fellowship over a stogie. It will be constructive Uncle Leo…

We seek talent here…we seek it there…the illusive Pimpernel. ‘They seek him here, they seek him there/Those Frenchies seek him everywhere/Is he in heaven, or is he in hell?/My own elusive Pimpernel.

We have a dearth of talent, and a profound number of people with no voice are sitting on the sidelines. Organizations die due to many spectators.

The case was made to University Chancellors and Presidents. We seek outside counsel when hidden gems are within our midst. We know the outsider must know best. They are somewhere else, an insider unheard.

‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver….’ as long as someone else is doing the drawing.

The humming vitality of a beating heart and vibrant spirit lasts a season. Eyes close, and lips cease to speak. Christmas calls us to action. Churches are dying; they need our help.

Two weeks to the Big Day. Hope swells in the hearts of children young and old. A Christmas Story is one of my favorites for the Holidays. Ralphie dreams of owning a Red Rider BB Gun. His mother informs him that he will shoot his eye out. What a quandary.

There is the Major Award for the Old Man or the Leg Lamp. A fine art object of rare beauty and unique curves Ralphie discovers. Suddenly it falls and breaks…all seems lost…along with Bumpas Dogs eating the turkey… Christmas is over. Yet there is the Chinese restaurant with a cooked goose with the head attached. Where there is a will there is a way. Christmas is saved!

So it goes. Reversals happen daily. Life is unique, with its twists and turns, as we often learn. When care is getting you down a bit, stop awhile, but don’t quit.

I remember when Neva J swore she would not cook Christmas dinner on a cold December 25th. She announced we would eat out at Two Tony’s Smorgasboard. In those halcyon days, two were in West Frankfort and Carmi, Illinois. Early advised that most restaurants closed on Christmas Day. Neva J would hear none of it. She was on a crusade for Christmas Dinner served to her…all you can eat…

We drove to both of the Two Tony’s where a sign in the window proudly informed that the staff was home with their families enjoying Christmas Dinner. We drove over Southern Illinois with no room in the Inn.

Poor Boys saved Christmas for us. A market in Harrisburg was open. They had ground chuck by the pound. Neva J fried it up and we had some delicious Christmas Burgers.

Earl’s brother Denny invited us over to his luxurious home in Eldorado. It was decked out for Santa. Beautiful Christmas Trees and Christmas Ornaments. Hot chocolate and apple cider with Christmas music playing.

A bit of Grand Marnier is good at Christmas. The orange Holiday flavor adds to the season. MJ and I were in St. Charles, Missouri Thursday and our favorite restaurant had been sold. They no longer had my traditional Grand Marnier. I have corrected my loss this afternoon.

I remember when a BB Gun was a big deal! I recall when a Big Swinger Polaroid Camera seemed unattainable. I remember when I had to save my pennies to produce a dime to purchase a glass of whole milk at the restaurant on State Street.

Who can we bless this Christmas? How can we be the Angel of Christmas to someone forgotten…

‘Christmas Eve is two weeks away,’ Jane said with joy. ‘This year will be the best with Uncle Buddy coming home on leave from Vietnam,’ Jane continued. ‘He was in the stuff in the jungle and lost his best friend,’ she said with tears in her eyes.

‘Grandma A is hosting Christmas Dinner for the family with all cousins aunts, and uncles present with their food specialties and appetites,’ Billy B advised. ‘There will be a place set for Uncle Dutch as has been for every year since WWII when he went Missing In Action,’ Billy B said. ‘Uncle Dutch has had an empty seat at the Christmas Table since 1944,’ Billy B said.

‘I am happy Grandma A invited Thelma and me to Christmas Dinner as it has been lonely without Dad this past year,’ Chet said quietly. ‘One day he was with us and the next he is gone,’ Chet said. ‘We were going to smoke a turkey for Christmas this year,’ Chet continued.

‘Happy Christmas…come in my home is your home…,’ Grandma A proclaimed. ‘There will be surprises on this special day,’ Grandma A smiled.’ ‘Today marks the birth of Christ we celebrate with gifts and a feast…often the homeless have nothing and must watch through the foggy windows of our heated homes while they wait in the cold,’ Grandma A admonished. ‘Follow me through the back door of the back porch into another room,’ Grandma A said with a knowing wink.

‘Welcome Grandma A…and all…we have been waiting before we start the feast,’ CP laughed uproariously! ‘There is every delicacy imaginable and our hosts have invited us to partake of all with them,’ CP roared with a slap on the back of Billy B. ‘Plum Pudding and Roast Goose Mulled Wine and Candy from Heaven better known as Turkish Delight,’ CP laughed.

Has there been a subtle change we were not informed of,’ Neva J asked? ‘We are here with Uncle Dutch and Carol Chet’s Dad,’ she noted. ‘Also I do not recall this big banquet hall outside the back door of Grandma A’s Back Porch,’ she laughed nervously. ‘We came in the front door with the cares of the world and went out the back door with the lightness of being only God can provide,’ Neva J whispered…