MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010
December 25 is … National Pumpkin Pie Day
Before we get started;
1989- Billy Martin, NY Yankee manager, killed in a car accident at 61
1995 - Dean Martin, singer/actor (Return to Me, Rio Bravo), dies at 78
1996 - Jon Benet Ramsey, Colo child beauty queen, murdered at 6
A CHRISTMAS POEM FOR ALL
The Christ child is born
This beautiful Christmas morn
The season is very jolly
Spruced up by the red hues of the holly
It is fun to stand under the mistletoe
As long as the person next to you is not Uncle Joe
Christmas Eve has come and gone
That was obvious at the crack of dawn
I started my Christmas with The Christmas Song
With that Nat King Cole tune you cannot go wrong
A little Bing Crosby and White Christmas
Sure helps to make the children listless
It is hard to beat ‘der Bingle’
Singing a Christmas jingle
Midnight Mass was always looked forward to when I was a younker
This was even before the time of Archie Bunker
St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Streator
I always thought it was neat because the sidewalks were melted by a heater
When you arrived home after Mass
We would always see the hoof prints of reindeer in our grass
My sister, her name is Patty
Always seemed to get a doll, often times chatty
My older brother, Terry
Never liked what he got, he was contrary
My other brother, Mike, much younger than I
Was easily fooled and if he didn’t see Santa he would cry
We only opened one present after church
We did not want to leave Santa in a lurch
On Christmas morning we always had presents and stockings to open
The ones Santa thought about and had chosen
My dad worked on Christmas day, like all the rest
But his hard work made our Christmas the best
The cookies and milk we left for Santa always seemed to disappear
Christmas was a wonderful way to end the Christian year
A Christmas Carol was always on the TV on Christmas Eve
And again on Christmas morning for those who had to leave
Bob Cratchett was always a bit behind his time on December 26th
He had made rather merry on December 25th
My parents, Mike and Alberta by name
Never seemed to get any presents when Christmas came
We tore into the presents after the lazy one awoke
By then the rest of us had had our first Coke
We never tried to save the paper or ribbons or bows
Patty always wore socks to cover her cold toes
By ten or eleven Christmas morning
We were headed out to play with our presents and a stiff parental warning
One of my favorite Christmas movies to watch
With my father, he and his scotch
Was “The Lemon Drop Kid” with Bob Hope
I think this movie is liked even by the Pope
I do not remember a big Christmas family meal
But our stockings always had oranges to peel
Electronic toys were not a part of the scene
Laying under the Christmas tree so beautiful and green
Board games were a staple as a gift
And fun to play while the snow outside created a drift
Mixed nuts in the shell were an annual treat
And you felt so good when you removed a Brazil nut whole to eat
The best cookies in the world were made by my mother
Argue all you want but it is no other
My sister has kept much of the tradition going
But the busier times we live in are showing
My brother hosts our annual Christmas affair
It is always fun when we are there
My parents are gone
And life has moved on
I married my stunning wife
We have three children and our own life
Christmas has become complicated with the blending of more families
With the addition of my wife’s, my children’s, my brother’s and Patty’s
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, I do love it so
The ornaments, the lights, the cookies, the shopping and the snow
I read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to my kids every year
Before I am done reading I have to wipe away a tear
They are older now and don’t fit on my lap
And before I am through I am ready for a long winter’s nap
On Christmas while my children were still at home we woke up in our beds, it was a tradition
Unfortunately that has come to an end just by attrition
We always cut our Christmas tree down each season
We have now gone to artificial, old age is the reason
Our stockings are carefully hung by paperclips
We had to look through them to see the recent lunar eclipse
The stockings number more than our children
Our pets each get one, there must be a million
Of course my wife and I have the largest stocking
But then, my wife does a lot of the shopping
Fruits, nuts, candies and Santa’s gifts cause the stockings to overflow
One year a stocking even had a CD in it by Bobby Goldsborough
My wife makes peanut butter balls from an old family recipe
Whenever the kids see them, they yell yippee
My children saw mommy kissing Santa Claus one year
Ever since, each Christmas, I am met by a sneer
We can’t open gifts until everyone is awake
When it isn’t Hannah, this causes her to ache
My daughter is a control person who hands out the presents
She often makes her brothers guess the contents
Once the unwrapping is said and done
The fun of gift giving has just begun
Installing batteries and assembling the treats
Is completed while we nibble on Christmas eats
I have never lived on Abbey Road, Sesame Street or Santa Claus Lane
I have also never lived in Maine
Whenever the kids are in the vicinity
They stop by for mom’s divinity
My personal favorite is fudge
I know it is liked by my friend, the Judge
Silver bells, Silver bells
Sound beautiful around the Christmas smells
To all my family, friends and readers, Season Greetings
Tell your family and friends glad tidings while gathered at your meetings
While you are watching Jaws, drinking through straws or eating crab claws
Be sure to tell Virginia, Yes there is a Santa Claus.
I have been writing this column since August 10, 2010. During that 137 days I have written one every day but one. This takes a little time and thought to come up with a new column every day. I obviously have a slant and persuasion to my thinking but I still have to be fresh. Luckily, the internet gives me and most writers an enormous research source. Of course, the politicians often provide fodder for me. Some columns are better than others. That is true from my view as the writer and from the view of the readers.
Thank you for giving me a small portion of your busy day I hope I have entertained you, made you think, occasionally cry and often laugh. I need a little time to charge my batteries. I will not be writing this blog until Jan. 1, 2011. I may see something too good to ignore and write a column but the regular column will not resume until January 1, 2011.
Merry Christmas to you and yours and I hope you have a Happy New Year. God Bless.
Bruce A. Brennan
December 25, 2010
