Thursday Tidbits
Posted on November 29, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Can you feel the pace quickening?
Yes, in two days’ time, we’ll be into December and the madness will begin in earnest. I find it mildly distressing that the bugler has scarcely blown the final note of The Last Post on Remembrance Day, when Christmas music fills the airwaves. I won’t go on my “Scroogey” diatribe about the excesses of the holiday season. I love Christmas and especially Christmas music, just not 24/7.
I was fortunate enough to be the Emcee for the Tree Lighting ceremony last weekend at Columbus Field. I was actually a last minute substitution as our MP was unable to attend. Several people in the audience were mildly disappointed. After all, they were expecting someone tall (very tall!), dark, handsome and youthful. I’m zero for four on those counts. I’m short, pasty, ordinary looking and old.
Part of my duties was to read “The Night before Christmas.” When I was doing my sound check before the throngs arrived from the parade, I threw the sound crew a bit of a curve ball. I held the colorful book with this time honored poem and began to recite: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house; there were bottles and butts left around by some louse”. The guys had a good laugh. In this day and age of electronic devices I was surprised and pleased to watch the rapt faces of hundreds of youngsters as they listened to the story of St.Nick. Make no mistake, reading to our children and grandchildren is still something very worthwhile.
And speaking of reading and the like, books are an excellent Christmas gift. Alert. Shameless self-promotion coming at you.
I am expecting my books to arrive no later than next Friday, December 7th. They will be available at the 5 to $1.00 but if you can’t wait until they find their way onto the shelves, give me a shout and you can get them directly from me. By the way, a giant shout out to the 5 to $1.00 who are huge supporters of local writers and musicians carrying our products in the store. I plan to be at the store on the evenings of December 19th and 20th to sign books.
There’s a new banner on my Week45 homepage that will take you to Amazon for on line purchases. My Week45 Facebook page also has a link to the new book. I am also planning to have Chaos and Wonder: Six Months in India as an e-book.
Johnny MacLellan drove a taxi for seventy-two (72) years and during this time, he never had an accident or had a driving infraction. He was always dressed smartly in his cab drivers uniform with his cap perched on his head. He drove for royalty, politicians, the religious and folks just like you and me. He had the common touch. I got to know Johnny in the latter stages of his life. He was an amazing raconteur and shared stories of some rather legendary trips. He also had a wonderful sense of humour. I asked him recently how he was doing. “The first hundred years are the hardest.” He was 96 when he told me this! Antigonish has lost another iconic and colorful character. Johnny passed away earlier this week.
Want to get into the Christmas spirit in a very meaningful way? St. James United Church will once again be hosting a Christmas Day dinner for anyone needing or wanting one. It is a great event and you can help in any number of ways. “Your donation of time, food or financial support allows this event to fill hearts and bellies with the warmth of the season.” If you’d like to help out, please check out this link: http://stjamesuc.com/xmas
Have a great weekend.
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