Tag Archives: Christmas

local news

Who needs Christmas ‘trappings’?

I have made another discovery, so I’ll share it with you here.

The discovery is that Christmas does not require one to become enveloped in all the festive trappings associated with this joyous and holy holiday.

How do I know this? Because we are living it in 2017.

We have no tree. We have wrapped a few presents, which we’ll exchange with family members in the next couple of days. We’re holed up in our recreational vehicle, getting ready to hit the road very soon.

Lights outside? Nope. Stockings for Santa to fill? Nada.

We are enjoying the spirit of the season.

My wife grew up in a family that celebrated Christmas on the eve of the big day. They sat around the tree, opened gifts, laughed and carried on, then went to church to celebrate the season’s actual significance to us Christians.

My family celebrated the big day the morning after Santa arrived. We, too, would gather around the tree after rousting Mom and Dad out of bed. We’d carry on and laugh as we opened our gifts. We would decorate our house with plenty of lights, a task which yours truly inherited as I grew old enough to climb onto the roof.

Oh, and we would leave milk and cookies for Santa. We awoke Christmas morning to find a half-eaten cookie and a partially consumed glass of milk … along with a thank-you note from Santa for the snack. And we didn’t put together the coincidence that Santa’s handwriting matched Mom’s impeccable penmanship. Who knew?

This year the holiday brings an entirely different meaning for my wife and me. We will attend a Christmas Eve service tonight at our church. Then the next day we’ll share a Christmas dinner in our RV with one of our sons and we’ll swap gifts with him.

Before that, we’re going to strap on aprons at the Salvation Army and serve homeless Amarillo residents. It’s something we thought would imbue some additional actual Christmas spirit into our hearts.

So it will be for us.

I’ve told you already about a memorable Christmas we spent as we moved into a newly built house in Amarillo. That was then. I am utterly certain this year’s holiday is going to produce even more indelible memories.

Even without all the trappings.

Merry Christmas.

local news

Season of joy … and big change

2 Comments

I posted this picture a year ago on Facebook, and the site reminded me of it today as a look back.

Initially, I was reluctant to re-post this image. It made me mildly sad this morning when I saw the Facebook “memory.”

This picture depicts the final Christmas in the house we called a home for 21 years. It’s dark this year. We’re no longer living there. We have moved on — more or less. Our “home” these days is a 28-foot fifth wheel recreational vehicle. It’s parked in a location on the other end of Amarillo. The house? It’s heading for the market, folks.

This is a season of joy for us. It’s also a season of big change that awaits us just down the road. We don’t quite yet know precisely where the road will take us.

Don’t misunderstand. We have a general idea where we’re going to resettle. It will be somewhere near our granddaughter, who’s now 4 years of age. Every friend we’ve told of our plans — and the reason for our move — has expressed total understanding and support for us. “That’s the best reason I can think of,” I’ve heard from many of our friends.

However, as I look at the picture attached to this blog post, I am reminded of one of the precious memories this house brought us.

***

It was Dec. 22, 1996. We had just taken possession of this house, which we had built. We had lived in a one-bedroom apartment since early 1995. Our furniture was stashed away in a storage compartment.

We closed on the house. We called the mover, who then delivered our goods. We unpacked them.

Our Christmas tree that year was a potted live Norfolk pine we brought with us from Beaumont. It stood about 4 feet tall. We found some Christmas lights, strung them around the tree.

We commenced opening our packed boxes and rediscovered the possessions we hadn’t seen in nearly two years.

It was — hands down — a glorious Christmas indeed in this structure that was filled with that “new house smell.”

That, too, was a season of change. To that end, the season has come full circle. We are anxious — and we are ready for whatever awaits.

entertainment news

An R-rated Christmas movie? Really?

I just witnessed a TV trailer for a film the announcer called a “Christmas comedy.”

It’s titled “Father Figures.” Then I was jolted a bit when I saw the text on the TV screen that told me the film is R-rated. That’s one step removed from NC-17, which used to be called “X-rated.”

I asked my wife, “Isn’t it a bit ironic for a Christmas movie to be rated R?” She believes as I do. Yes. It is ironic, indeed.

It’s also a bit weird.

I remember watching “The King’s Speech,” the Oscar-winning film that depicted Britain’s King George VI — portrayed by Colin Firth — struggling to cope with a debilitating stutter. That film was R-rated, too. As I watched the film, I kept wondering, why is this film R-rated?

Then came this scene in which the king started blurting out a stream-of-conscience rapid-fire barrage of “F-bombs” as he sought to cure himself of the stammer. Right there. That’s it. That scene turned “The King’s Speech” into an R-rated masterpiece. It was hilarious to boot!

How, though, do filmmakers turn a Christmas movie into an R-rated piece of art? Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen “Die Hard,” which some folks consider a Christmas movie as well. NYPD Officer John McClane blurts out an F-bomb or two in that one, too. I don’t know that promos called it a “Christmas movie” at the time of its release.

This one, “Father Figures,” puzzles me. I don’t know how a “Christmas movie” — released during this holy holiday — can carry an R rating. Someone help me understand.

political news

Blog deliberates how to handle POTUS references

High Plains Blogger is entering a period of deliberation. It might last a few days, perhaps through the weekend.

It deals with how to refer to the president of the United States during this holiday/Christmas season.

I have sought periodically to tone down the criticism of Donald Trump, seeking to honor the feeling of good will toward “all men (and women)” during this time of the year.

I’ll admit that it is difficult. You see, the president of the United States has this way of driving me nearly to the point of insanity with his ridiculous public pronouncements, his policy decisions, his use of Twitter … you name it, he makes me nuts, man!

If this blog is going to refrain from hurling bombs and brickbats at the president, my hope would be that he would reciprocate at least by acting with a semblance of reason and rationality during this time of the year.

I know I cannot demand such a thing of him. He isn’t likely to read these posts, although I know he has fans who read this blog; they’ll stand up of for the president, defending him against the criticism I might toss at the man.

My inclination is to continue the criticism, but refraining from the epithets I am prone to hurl in his direction. I can do that at least through New Year’s Day. After that? I dare not make any promises.

That’s the ticket! I’ll seek to be a gentleman. Now, the question goes to the president: Will you, sir, do the same thing and behave like someone who occupies the most exalted and revered public office in the United States of America?

local news

Welcome to grandparenthood

1 Comment

I have introduced you to Emma Nicole, our granddaughter. She’s now 4 years of age and she’s growing way too rapidly.

Soon — hopefully even sooner than that — we plan to relocate nearer to her and her parents and brothers.

But last night at a Christmas party my wife and I attended, we got to experience something that I found oh, so very refreshing. We ran into a couple I have known for many years. He is a lawyer, she is a former elected official in Amarillo who does some business consulting around the area.

They are brand new grandparents. Their grandbaby is now three weeks of age. They are giddy beyond the stars, the sun and the moon. Their granddaughter lives in Austin with her parents — our friends’ son and his wife.

And guess what they’re planning to do? They’re making preliminary plans already to pull up their deeply rooted Amarillo stakes and move to the People’s Republic of Austin for the expressed purpose of living near their little baby granddaughter.

“I’ve made many trips already,” Grandpa told me last night as we laughed and shouted above the party din. “My wife is likely to drag me down there” to live, he said. Yeah, right, bub. There will be little “dragging” going on here. I heard it in his voice.

We have one thing in common with these good folks, apart from our shared world view of political and public policy matters. Their granddaughter is their first, just as Emma is our first “biological” grandbaby.

I’ve regaled many of our friends and family members over recent years about our joy at becoming grandparents. I’ll continue to do so at every opportunity. Heck, I might even look for opportunities.

Last night’s shared joy with a lovely couple, though, was a relatively new experience for us. We were given the chance to receive their exuberance at welcoming a treasured young one into their lives.

As the bumper sticker says so eloquently: If I had known grandkids would be so much fun, I would have had them first.

 

business news

‘War on Christmas’ about to commence

Listen up, my fellow Americans. Many of you are less than a week away from going to war. Against Christmas. Yes, I’m talking about you Black Friday shoppers.

You’ve heard the refrain from conservative media talking heads about the “War on Christmas.” They blame the “liberal mainstream media” for the open warfare, suggesting that the “happy holiday” greeting subverts the Christmas meaning.

It doesn’t do any such thing.

No, the real war on Christmas will be “fought” on retail sales floors all across the United States of America. The first shot in the next big battle in that war will be fired around midnight next Thursday/Friday. That’s when department stores fling open their doors to allow thundering herds of shoppers to pour into their buildings to look for their kids and grandkids’ perfect toy.

Here’s the best — or the worst part: There might be violence inside those department stores. Someone will grab the last fashionable toy off the shelf just ahead of someone who had his or her eye on the same item; they might exchange words, with the individual who wasn’t quick enough accusing the quick-draw artist who grabbed the item of cheating. They might exchange four-letter words and then fists might start flying.

Well, that isn’t exactly the Christmas spirit, is it.

But the war will commence anyway. Shoppers will tell media representatives about how chaotic this Christmas season has been. Some of them will bitch about the crowds and the rudeness of their fellow shoppers.

This will go on for a few days after the start of the Christmas Shopping Season.

I’m not shopping on Black Friday. I have many reasons for staying away. One of them involves the potential scenario I’ve just described. A more important reason is that my wife and I are accelerating our plans to relocate to points southeast of Amarillo, Texas; we’ll be too busy to do any Black Friday shopping.

Look, I get that some folks actually enjoy the pandemonium that occurs on Black Friday. I’m just one of them.

I made a pact with myself years ago to never again let Christmas get the better of me. I intend to go with the flow again in 2017 — of course, when I’m not doing what my wife tells me to do as we continue our relocation prep.

As for conservatives’ belief there is a liberal-led “war on Christmas,” I’ll simply say that it’s a canard. It’s a talking point.

What’s more, I take zero offense when someone wishes me a “happy holiday” when I make a purchase between now and Christmas.

What does offend me is the sight of the mayhem that is going to erupt on Black Friday.

national news

Trump vows to bring Christmas back into vogue

Donald Trump must be channeling Bill O’Reilly.

You see, O’Reilly is fond of declaring annually that the “liberal mainstream media” are declaring war on Christmas. The former Fox News Channel host would rail constantly about the alleged war, chiding merchants across the nation for their habit of wishing “happy holidays” to their customers.

Now comes the president of the United States. He spoke to the Values Voter Summit and said that, by golly, we’re going to forgo “political correctness” and start saying “Merry Christmas.”

Where does one begin with this one? I’ll start a discussion.

War on Christmas?

I am a practicing Christian who understands the meaning of the Christmas holiday. Do I take offense when someone wishes me a happy holiday? Not in the least! The merchant who wishes me a happy holiday has no idea of my faith. He or she doesn’t know me.

I am more likely than not to wish the individual who offers me the generic holiday greeting a Merry Christmas in return.

Then I go on my way. No harm no foul.

Why, though, does the president choose to make such a big deal of it? I guess it’s because he can and because he seeks to appeal to the more narrow-minded among us who take offense at those who wish them happy holiday rather than Merry Christmas.

I do respect the fact that this nation comprises many millions of citizens who don’t celebrate Christmas. Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, agnostics, atheists — you name them — don’t relish the holiday’s religious significance the way many millions of others Americans do.

While campaigning for the presidency, Trump once promised he would ensure that merchants would display “Merry Christmas” signs in their places of business … as if the president has any real authority to mandate such a thing. He doesn’t.

The president, though, is now declaring war against some non-existent culture conflict.

As if Donald Trump or Bill O’Reilly don’t have enough conflict already on their respective plates.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2014/12/one-more-time-on-war-on-christmas/

national news, political news, religious news

His majesty, the president-elect?

The Republican National Committee will have to explain itself with a good bit more precision.

The RNC put out a message that says the following: “Over two millennia ago, a new hope was born into the world, a Savior who would offer the promise of salvation to all mankind. Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King. We hope Americans celebrating Christmas today will enjoy a day of festivities and a renewed closeness with family and friends.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rnc-dismisses-controversy-over-christmas-press-release/ar-BBxyL5J?li=BBnb7Kz

The “new king” is, um, who … precisely? Would that be the president-elect, a guy named Donald J. Trump?

The RNC says oh, no. It’s merely referring to Jesus Christ, whose birth has been celebrated by Christians all over the world.

Perhaps I’m a little thick. I could swear as I read the statement that the RNC was making a direct reference to the new president.

RNC communications director Sean Spicer — who’s about to become the White House press flack — said this in a tweet: “Christ is the King. He was born today so we could be saved. Its sad & disappointing you are politicizing such a holy day.”

So help me, Sean, I would say that you folks — with this “new King” reference — are politicizing the day.

local news

How would Jesus celebrate Christmas?

I think it’s worth asking — today of all days — whether Jesus Christ would approve of the way many of us celebrate the day of his birth.

We cannot know for certain. We only are left to our own faith, our own belief in whether he would approve.

My own sense is that Jesus Christ would be just fine with the secular celebrations we enjoy — as long as we also honor his arrival in this world.

Many biblical purists, of course, object to the Santa Claus-ification of the holiday. One of them here in Amarillo, for example, decided one day recently to make a spectacle of himself by berating children and their parents waiting in line for the kids to sit on Santa’s lap. The holiday, he said, should be reserved entirely and exclusively to honor Jesus’s birth.

My reading of the Bible I have read my entire life, though, suggests to me that Jesus wouldn’t object to the giving of gifts, Christmas trees, the sharing of love, the hugs and cheer that we spread among our friends and loved ones.

All of that, according to my understanding of the gospels, would be Christ-like to the max. Jesus was all about love and, yes, tolerance.

There’s been all this talk over the years about a fabricated “war on Christmas.” I suppose there’s been a war, all right. It’s been fought at shopping malls and department stores by parents and other so-called adults who get angry when someone else grabs the last toy du jour off the shelf.

I’m guessing Jesus wouldn’t like that kind of behavior. Remember, though, none of us around today walked when Jesus lived with mere mortals. We are left only to our own belief in what he would say or do.

Thus, I believe the man/God we honor today would join us in spreading love and goodwill.

Merry Christmas!

national news

Here comes the ‘holiday’; let’s enjoy it

I cannot let this time of the year pass without commenting on a typically ridiculous rant offered by the former half-term Alaska governor, Sarah Palin.

The 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee just had to go off on the Obama family because it sent out “Happy Holiday” cards during this season. The card features a Christmas-like image of a fireplace and Bo, the Obamas’ dog sitting in front of the crackling fire.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/12/sarah-palin-fox-news-attack-white-house-holiday-card-design.html

Palin ventured onto her favorite — and friendliest — venue, the Fox News Channel to spew her nonsense. As the Los Angeles Times reported: Palin told Fox News that she found it “odd” that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like “family, faith and freedom.” She also said that Americans are able to appreciate “American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree.”

Sigh …

C’mon, Sarah! Didn’t you see the poinsettias in the picture? They’re universal symbols of Christmas, aren’t they?

As someone who grew up in the Christian faith — I was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and became a Presbyterian after I got married more than 45 years ago — I’ve never had a problem with someone wishing “holiday” greetings during this time of year.

And I have grown weary of those who keep getting their hackles raised when they see others do so.

As I keep noting on this blog, the Constitution declares that there shall be “no religious test” for anyone seeking public office. The Obama family, therefore, need not prove to anyone that they believe in the same God as most Americans.

But the “Happy Holidays” greeting is a simple reminder that the nation’s head of state recognizes that not every American celebrates Christmas. Yes, this remains a festive time of the year. So, the first family has chosen this year — as it has during their time in the White House — to celebrate the holiday in a more ecumenical manner.

Some first families have chosen to emphasize the religious aspect of the season. I honor that desire, too.

In this joyous season, though, I have to take mild umbrage — it’s not all that severe, given that it’s Christmas — at a politician yapping about the first family’s choice of message to send out during this holiday season.

Put another way: Zip it, Sarah!

***

This will conclude my snarkiness during the holiday season. I’ll be commenting on this blog throughout Christmas Eve and I might even add a comment or two after we see what Santa brought us during the night.

I’ll get back at it, though, after Christmas. The new year awaits and there will be so-o-o-o much fodder for us to ponder.