Somehow, not only for Christmas, But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others, Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing, The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing, Returns to you glad.

- John Greenleaf Whittier

The Legend of How the Angel Got To

Be On Top of the Christmas Tree

Once upon a time, in a land far, far, to the north, St. Nicholas woke up on Christmas morning in an absolutely foul mood. It had been one of those weeks where nothing had gone right. The elves had been on strike and he had been up all night making toys. He had a bad case of the flu, and his wife wouldn't stop nagging. He went out to load his sleigh with the bag of toys and the bottom fell out of the bag. Mrs. Claus would hear about this!

So, after spending half an hour picking toys up out of the snow, he had to hunt for another bag under the stairs, he burned his fingers on the match he was using to see with, then badly bumped his head.

He went to the shed, more annoyed every minute, to find five of his reindeer sick (they had their pre-flight party the night before), and that he would have to make do with only three. As he was putting the harness on them, one of them kicked him in the...uh...jingle bells, and knocked him onto a file of fresh reindeer poo, staining his only suit (and don't think Mrs. Claus wouldn't hear about that!) and breaking the harness in the process.

While he was sitting around in his thermals, waiting for his suit to dry and sewing the harness, the doorbell rang and startled the...uh...life out of him. He jabbed the needle right through his thumb, said a few words that would have wilted the mistletoe, tripped over the coffee table, said more words that would earn him a place on the naughty list, and stubbed his toe on the chair. Need I say he said a few more words that would have drained the color from Rudolph's nose?

He finally got to the door to find standing there the Angel, who had come to deliver the Christmas Tree. She asked him, in a very sweet angelic voice, that all angels have, "Where would you like the tree?"

And that, dear reader, is the story of how the angel got to be on top of the Christmas Tree.

If a fat guy grabs you and puts you in a bag, don't worry, I told Santa I wanted a good friend for Christmas.

Pandora Radio

Just rediscovered Pandora Radio and loving it! I upgraded to Pandora One, which gives me a desktop application, no ads and, as with Pandora, only the music I want.

Basic Pandora is free, but I opted to upgrade to Pandora One. Pandora One gives me a desktop application, no ads, as with basic, only the music I want.

Pandora

I will be making a conscious effort to wish everyone

A Merry Christmas this year ...

My way of saying that I am celebrating

The birth Of Jesus Christ.

So I am asking my buddies,

If you agree with me,

To please do the same.

And if you'll pass this on to

Your buddies, and so on...

Maybe we can prevent one more

American tradition from being lost in the sea of

"Political Correctness".

Elf Training