Christmas Poem

We haven't had a credit card in five years (long story). Needless to say, that lends itself to a certain "hand-to-mouth" way of living, at which we've been pretty successful. When it comes to Christmas, we rely on the money we sock away through our credit union's Christmas Club account.

This year, however, we've had to clean out that account just to keep our vehicles running, due to some major repair work needed. Christmas - in terms of the gifts we were planning on giving to the kids and each other - is starting to look kind of bleak.

Which, in the end, may be a good thing. Because, you see, this year I'm even more focused on the real reason for the season and less concerned than ever about the materialism and commercialism inherent in our society. So when I received this poetic parody from list member Dianne F., it kind of struck a chord. I tried to find an author, but could only find countless reprints around the Internet. I know that it's at least two years old, and many of you have probably already seen this.

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THE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS

'Twas the month before Christmas when all through our land
Not a Christian was praying, or taking a stand

Why the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas ... no one could say

The children were told by their schools not to sing
About shepherds and wise men and angels and things

It might hurt people's feelings, their teachers would say
December 25 must be just a holiday

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks, and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it

CDs from Madonna, an X-Box, an iPod
Something was changing ... something quite odd

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
And hoped to sell books by Franken and Fonda

At Target's the trees were hung upside down
At Lowe's the word "Christmas" was nowhere to be found

At K-Mart and Staples and Penneys and Sears
You won't hear the word "Christmas"; it won't touch your ears

Inclusive, and sensitive, and diversity
Were the words that they used to intimidate me

Now Daschle, now Darden, now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton

At the top of the Senate there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus in all public matter

And we spoke not a word as they took away faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The True Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season - stopped before it started

So as you enjoy "Winter Break" and your "Dream Tree"
Sipping your Starbucks ... listen to me

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
It's "MERRY CHRISTMAS" ... not just "Happy Holiday"

[from all over; thanks to Dianne F., poetic edits by Mark Raymond]

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Unless I have to work tomorrow - which I won't find out about until this is sent out - it looks to be a quiet weekend. We're hoping to have a "movie marathon" at home with some summer blockbusters that some of us missed, and get some housecleaning done.

I'll see you on Monday.

Mark

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WEB SITE of the WEEK: As we are in the prime Christmas shopping season, spend a few minutes at the Consumer Product Safety Commission site - http://tinyurl.com/5au7q - to see if that toy you just bought or are thinking about getting for the kids or grandkids is on the government's recall list. Most violations seem to be for too much lead paint or laceration risks, and the list is obnoxiously long, but as the old adage says, it's better to be safe than sorry. If you use the "CTRL-F" key combination, you can do a search on the toy name you're interested in (PC's only). Each news release contains a picture of the toy to help you identify it.

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Mark's Musings is also sent out each weekday via email and I'm certified by the folks at Habeas to be spam-free. That means I'll never email you spam. Subscribe, view past issues in the Archives, and click all you want at my web site. To contact me and sooner or later get a reply, click here. Thanks for all your reminders about my mom's birthday card last week. I got it sent out on time! You can forward or reprint "Mark's Musings" freely but please keep the credits attached. The credits are the only deed I have for this intellectual property. Original material and commentary © 2008 by Mark Raymond. I update this blog with a copy of this post daily and occasionally toss in bonus material on the weekends. Look for the label that says "Weekend" and you can bring them all up with one click. My personal mission statement remains John 3:30. And the road goes ever on.

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WORDS for YOUR WEEKEND: "Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind." (Mary Ellen Chase)