Columns

The halls are hushed as the day begins. Classes have started, and the only sounds you hear are the chatter of students behind closed doors.  Some doors are decorated with wintry scenes and others with simple signs or posters.

As we start a New Year I wanted to share a great story that I read this past week . . . 3,900 Saturdays A Story by Jeff Davis The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday morning.

Village Idiot If you know anything about children and cats, you know they are one thing: fastidious. When you put a child in the ball pit at the local fast-food restaurant, you can bet that every ball will be licked clean and ready for the next child to play with.

Through the years I have occasionally used quotes from Maxine in my writings and I say occasionally because much of her “stuff” is not fit to print in a family newspaper. But I never bothered to investigate her origins. Now I have.

Christmastime for an old guy like me is a time to remember. Like Scrooge, old guys like me seem to dwell on “Christmas Past.” But why not? The memories of the past are the best, aren’t they? Especially when our selective memory alters our memories, so they seem even more special than they were.

Country Comments THE FESTIVAL OF FORTY YEARS AGO AND THAT OF TODAY: A BACHELOR BROUGHT UP IN BROOKLYN CRACKS THE GOOD OLD TIMES CHESTNUT AND RAILS AGAINST THE MODERN MERCHANT—BOTH SIDES OF THE QUESTION. “Christmas is not what it used to be.”

When I think of Christmas, I think about my loved ones coming together and bonding. The Christmas dinners were always held at my great-grandmother’s house until she passed away. Now, my siblings come home and we all spend quality time together. We laugh, eat, and then open gifts.

I’m right on track for Christmas. Sunday a week ago I made it to “Hanging of the Green” at First Baptist in Allen. A great and Christmassy program with lots of Christmas music. A good way to open the season.

The older I get the more I enjoy reminiscing. During December, I thought it would be fun to look at Christmas-Past. Let’s start with the early 1900s. 1900 At the turn of the century, one in five American families enjoyed a Christmas tree in their homes.

Thanksgiving greetings! As I mentioned last week, we as a church would sometimes draw names from our 18 families and single households to determine who would be gathering at which home in an attempt to have everyone involved.