Thinking of Christmas Past

The Final Scene from It's a Wonderful Life

As the kids and the grandsons departed last evening after completing almost two days of Christmas celebration and family togetherness, I found time to finish watching the last half hour of Frank Capra's 1946 production of It's a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart. This movie is my favorite Christmas movie! 

The ending of the movie is especially poignant as the main character, George Bailey, played by Stewart, discovers with the help of his bumbling guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers), that despite how gloomy the present seems, our lives are far more than the circumstances we are presently facing. Most everyone knows the story of how George Bailey wished that he had never been born and how his wish was granted to allow him to realize how his humble life was world changing. 

As  I watched the uplifting ending of the movie last evening, I realized that I am equally as lucky. It had been a long tough two days getting everything together, planning meals, cooking, and bringing together all of the disparate things to make the family holiday celebration a success. Sometimes the activities and the planning get in the way of enjoying the celebration, but at the end of the day, or even during the spectacular meal that we enjoy together, it is all worth it. Like George Bailey whir he was in the middle of his crisis, I may wonder if it is all worth it, but by the end of the evening surrounded by my family the answer is clear--it certainly was!

I hope you had a happy Christmas celebration. Remember, it isn't over yet! I know I have some cool toys that need to be exercised!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Christmas 2013: As the Day Begins

Jax, Chris, and Ethan

I am sitting in my chair, next to the mountain of gifts which are awaiting the arrival of the family later today for the Christmas gift opening. Chris and I enjoyed traveling to be with Ethan and Jackson as they opened their gifts earlier this morning. There is something special about being with children on Christmas morning.

Last evening, I was surprised while at Patrick and Tina's to read again the Polar Express to the assembled group. That is something that I have done for many of the Christmas Eve's since the book was published. I enjoy retelling the story of the magic of Christmas.

The outlaw Haslup brothers!

So far, the gift of Christmas that is the most interesting is the pair of BB guns that the boys got. All I can hear in my mind are the words from the movie, The Christmas Story, "You're gonna shoot your eye out!"

Merry Christmas to all of you!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Christmas Eve 2013

Christmas Tree on the Christmas Tree

And it has arrived! The day before the day. Christmas Eve. 

The ornaments are on the tree. The presents are bought and, mostly, wrapped, although I still need to wrap a few which are well hidden. I hope I can remember where they are hidden. Although, I am waiting for UPS to deliver the last gift of Christmas! They already delayed it once. 

The day is fairly well mapped out. Brunch a 9, church at 3:30, dinner at 5:30, crashing totally burned out at 9:30 and then waking early on Christmas morning to discover Santa's treasures and heading out by 6 to open gifts with with dinner at 2, and gift opening sandwiched in there somewhere along with smoking some meat for dinner.

Why is it so busy and preplanned? It is so tightly scheduled that is almost takes all of the fun out of the day for which planning has been underway since before Thanksgiving. 

I hope that you have a couple of great days. Despite all of the preplanning and scheduling, I intend to have a lot of fun while also finding some time to relax and enjoy being with family and friends. In the middle of all of the activity, don't forget the reason for the season. You can read about it in two short verses in Galatians 4:4-5.

AND, say Merry Christmas to someone you don't know. It will make them smile a lot more than Happy Holidays!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD  

Monday Musings - December 23, 2013

1. Counting today, there are two shopping days left until Christmas. 

Louis in Charge

2. Cats can be strange. Louis thought he owned my chair the other morning. I felt bad about moving him. But I moved him anyway after taking this awesome picture.

3. I heard the following at an official function the other day from a very senior military officer: "May the blessings of our Lord be with you this season and always." Wow! That was so awesome to hear.

4. Did I write that tomorrow is Christmas Eve?

5. Since when did it become legal to decide not to pay debts just because they get too expensive? I'm watching the games being played with the military retirement system in Washington right now. 

6. Happy Christmas, wherever you are. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Darwin Awards 2013

I love the annual Darwin Awards and I'm sorry I missed when the winners were announced during August. But, I have recovered and ran across the 2013 winners and want to share a couple with you. I found them as reported by a fellow blogger in My Underwood Typewriter.  

The 2013 winner, as reported in the blog was:

Yes, it’s that magical time of year again when the Darwin Awards are bestowed, honoring the least evolved among us.

Here Is The Glorious Winner:

1. When his .38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

I urge you to log onto the blog and read the honorable mentions--they are pretty funny.

My favorite is this one which came in at number 10.

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street by sucking on a hose, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline, but he plugged his siphon hose into the motor home’s sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he’d ever had and the perp had been punished enough!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Super Saturday Dawns with the Solstice

The last shopping Saturday before Christmas has dawned with warm temperatures and the promise of rain and the inevitable last minute dash to finalize plans for the coming holiday.

Coupled with this it is also the solstice. The shortest amount of daylight in the northern hemisphere of the year. I remember a few years ago traveling to the Tropic of Capricorn and straddling it for a few minutes thinking of the solstice, one day per year when the sun makes it southernmost journey and is directly overhead. I wish I were there today--enjoying warmth and daylight. The local weather station is reporting 9 hours and 24 minutes of expected sunlight today. All, of course, obscured by heavy gray rain-laden clouds. Today will have three more minutes of sunlight--we have officially turned the corner on the darkness.

And then, after saying the official good-bye to autumn, we gather ourselves and joining the newly dawned winter season soar into Christmas.

It should be a busy week. And it will be lighter, longer every day.

Spring is just about 91 days away! The grass will return, the leaves with blanket the trees and flowers will bloom.

But first, Christmas!

Ho, ho, ho.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Winter Morning

Winter's cold wind blew through my room 
leaving its frost on the lampshade by my bed 
as I slept.
Where had the heat gone? 
I could only wonder
as I rose from my slumber 
and my feet touched the snow cold floor.
Where were my slippers? I thought, 
not remembering as I padded across the wooden floors 
to flip the light switch 
and illuminate the still dark scene that was my room
only to find that the reason for the frost on my lamp 
might be tied to the unresponsive light 
meaning that the electricity was off
and my attempt to drive out the lingering darkness 
was a failure.
Where is the dog, I wondered, 
not wanting to trip over her slumbering form 
and then I heard her stirring from her bed 
to join me in my pursuit of warmth.
A lone ember still glowed in the fireplace
and seemed my only hope of driving out the cold
before I succumbed to hypothermia
I needed my cell--to report the untimely outage 
and hopefully ease my distress.
But, looking out the window 
into the faint cold dawn's gathering light
I could see the likely cause of my current powerless state 
might be related to the heavy snow 
which fell overnight 
and blanketed everything in sight
with its cleansing, but freezing whiteness 
unspoiled as it was just now predawn
I found my shoes and coat and struggled outside 
against the cold wind blown drifts
trudging across the yard making a trail 
across then ubiquitous whiteness that 
seemed too bright even by the faint glow of the morning sky.
Arriving at the neatly stacked pile of logs 
which held the promise of fire and heat
to drive away the intense cold, 
I loaded and armful
in the orange-hued dawn which 
was brightening against the black sky 
driving the darkness away by each moment.
My breath seemed to freeze to my nose 
as I exhaled thinking of walking back to my house
with the wood and to create warmth from cold.
It was as clear a morning as I could remember.  
The  cold gripped me, 
shaking me from my momentary dream 
reminding me of my mission to find heat. 
Shuffling back through the snow and into the house 
I could not tell which was colder--the house? or the outside?
I had forgotten my gloves 
and my hands were numb as I laid the logs into the fireplace 
and tried to start a fire. 
I wonder if the water pipes would burst when the heat returned? 
Had they frozen? I went to the sink 
and turned the knob hoping 
to start a small stream running to save the pipes
And I did. Perhaps they would survive.
In a few minutes the fire was blazing 
driving away the cold and 
returning the room to a livable  temperature.
Coffee. 
I needed coffee, 
and decided to heat water in a pan on the fire.
Three quick successes improved my mood--
the fire, the water, and the coffee.
I looked at my pathetically under decorated Christmas tree, remembering the trees of my youth
but thankful for the one that now, 
in darkness adorned my room.
Dawn had finally broken and light poured into the room 
with it, the promise of the day 
reminded me that this cold, winter morning 
was but another step in the journey 
and that with each obstacle comes the opportunity for success.
I was kidding myself. 
I should have stayed in bed and waited for the power to return.
Oh--I still hadn't called the outage in.
The dog joined me on the couch after the call, 
I sipped my coffee and we both marveled 
at the gift that we had been given that morning.
The gift of life and of each other
the promise of another day 
even in the middle of Winter's cruel cold grip.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Cookies, A Christmas Tradition

On a cold Sunday afternoon, when most of the football teams we care about weren't playing, it turned into an impromptu Christmas cookie baking and decorating day.

Cookie baking and decorating day is a family holiday tradition, however, the day is becoming parts of many days as the cookie production line seems to be operating more often this year than usual.

I love the cookies, but I need to be mindful of how many I enjoy. I'm not sure I could play enough racquetball to maintain my weight if I consumed as many of the delicious cookies as I desired. I also get enjoyment watching others as they debate the relative merits of one, or two, or sometimes three cookies. 

It is, after all the holiday season. That time of year when we make a lot of decisions that have repercussions well into the next year.

Eat, enjoy, relax. It is just a few cookies.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Christmas Shopping Update

I ventured out last evening into the rush hour traffic and Christmas shoppers. I needed to finish up some shopping before it becomes a last minute crisis. It likely will become a last inure crisis.

The traffic was crushing; I-95 was a parking lot of red tail lights stretching into the cold winter distance. The on ramps were backed up. A haze hung around the lights illuminating the parking lots making it look a lot colder than it was. But, undaunted, I continued on, although I avoided the mall. IT is Christmas time after all. 

The most frustrating part of holiday shopping is knowing what I want to buy, but finding that the stores don't have it, or more correctly, the last one they have looks damaged.

Is there still internet ordering time?

I will continue my pursuit of the perfect Christmas gift--but time is drawing short. At least I didn't wait for Christmas Eve to begin my final shopping push. Christmas Eve is my favorite shopping day of the year, why? Because it is crunch time. Now or never time.  

Crushing traffic really takes the fun out of the season. But, I was humming Christmas carols through all of the hustle and bustle. 

Today is another opportunity for success and armed with my trusty internet access, I expect to complete my Christmas shopping and begin to focus upon other aspects of the too rapidly approaching holiday. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Holiday Concert -- It's Elementary

Ethan and his cello

It was a strange feeling last evening to be returning to an elementary school for a holiday concert. It had been, get this, decades since I last experienced the joy, the terror, the not nearly enough parking in a cramped cafeteria converted to an auditorium listening to motivated students demonstrating their newly discovered instrumental skills playing holiday music. And better yet, this was a joint band and orchestra concert.

Ethan was our star. He was one of two cellists in the beginning orchestra! How awesome is that? I'm a band person myself and I  played the trumpet (not very well) for a number of years until football got in the way. 

It was fun to see all of the children take their places with their instruments and begin searching the assembled masses for their families. They are too young to care about not being seeing trying to see and be seen.

The music was enthusiastic. I loved the introduction to one of the band pieces: "This piece is difficult because it uses all six of the notes we know how to play."  How cute is that?

Ethan on the cello! Enjoy it and remember when we were all younger and maybe, just maybe, we were sitting there terrified and proud!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD