Tis the season to give . . .
. . . and give and give. Don’t get me wrong, giving is okay. It is always better to give than to receive. That’s what we have been taught and that is what we are teaching the young ones. It’s the getting part that is starting to get obscene.
As we have two boys of early school age, we have received two million, four hundred and ninety-seven notes asking for help for this charity or that. Our children have been the go-betweens between the adults in their lives.
Our children have been the couriers of notes asking for a buck here and a buck there. They’ve brought home notes asking for toys. They’ve brought home notes asking for canned goods. They’ve even brought home notes asking for carrots.
Their schools are doing projects that need parental donations.
Their classes are doing projects that need parental donations.
Their teachers have pet projects that need parental donations.
Churches are rightly doing projects that need parental donations.
Individuals are doing projects . . . and every one has an individual note that has to be sent home. Here’s an idea: Coordinate with all the do-gooders and send home just one note per kid. One printing and be done with it. Less paper work is a good thing. Hey, consider it a gift to humanity: less paper used means less paper in the land fill and less paper used means more trees can stand.
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Before I get too far into this, I want to congratulate Oxford High School’s journalism class. This semester the group of journalistic newbees, under the tutelage of Lynn DeRemer produced two school newspapers. Their December 2003 edition is one Lynn and students can be proud to have completed.
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It was fun to sit down in front of the telly this past weekend with the boys and watch the Wizard of Oz. To see them smile and hear them laugh at the same scenes and lines that brought smiles and laughter from me, when I was their age, did my heart good.
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On the other hand, watching Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer with the lads was an eye-opener. This animated, 1964 Christmas classic was my all-time favorite holiday show. I waited for it year after year. I knew the words, the songs and I still like listening to Burl Ives sing because of this made-for-TV movie.
Watching it now . . . yikes, Santa was a big fat jerk. Obviously bigoted elves, reindeer and assorted other creatures gravitated to the North Pole because their hearts were as cold as ice.
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This from reader Chuck Alcini . . .
n The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: ‘take only ONE. God is watching.? Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, ‘take all you want. God is watching the apples.?
n A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, ‘when I get to heaven I will ask Jonah.? The teacher asked, ‘what if Jonah went to hell?? The little girl replied, ‘then you ask him.?
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