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Christmas Truce, no politics, no bickering until 12/26, now extended until 2020 (1 Viewer)

My dad said tonight my GF was very creative with the dinner she made. (Prime rib dinner thanks to that thread from years ago.) I looked at my GF knowingly and my mother exclaimed "You are such a pervert! How did I raise such a boy?! " which is rich because she's as dirty as a river after a hard rain. :rolleyes:

 
Ditkaless Wonders said:
Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check but that is not what I have found.  I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.  Simple acts of kindness and love.  Why Bilbo Baggins?   Perhaps it is because I am afraid and he gives me courage
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Indeed.  Myself, I found my courage in Sam. We all imagine we are Frodo in life, the boy born to be hero.  Even in the times I believed that to be true, before the reality of life set in, I thought it a base and low calling, to be the hero.
 

To be the man who has no glory in his future, no song to be sung of him, no name written large in the tablets of time.... to be that man and do what must be done is to see the world in a grain of sand.  It is wisdom and strength, in a weak world gone mad. 

 
cosjobs said:
My wife works a 12 hour shift today.

And another one tomorrow.

So I don't have much to do other than try and keep this thing going. 
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I was supposed to work a 12 hour shift tonight (and tomorrow. And the next night). As I was walking out the door to drive in, I was called off, so I drove to my brother's house instead for Xmas Eve dinner. My own little Christmas miracle.

 
In my home we get drunk and read poetry on Christmas Eve.  I get to read The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock this year.  Do join us. 
 

Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table;

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

Of insidious intent

To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

Let us go and make our visit.

In the room the women come and go

Talking of Michelangelo.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,

Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,

Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,

Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,

Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,

And seeing that it was a soft October night,

Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time

For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,

Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;

There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea.

In the room the women come and go

Talking of Michelangelo.

And indeed there will be time

To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”

Time to turn back and descend the stair,

With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —

(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)

My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,

My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —

(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)

Do I dare

Disturb the universe?

In a minute there is time

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all:

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;

I know the voices dying with a dying fall

Beneath the music from a farther room.

               So how should I presume?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—

The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,

And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,

When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,

Then how should I begin

To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?

               And how should I presume?

And I have known the arms already, known them all—

Arms that are braceleted and white and bare

(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)

Is it perfume from a dress

That makes me so digress?

Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.

               And should I then presume?

               And how should I begin?

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets

And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? ...

I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!

Smoothed by long fingers,

Asleep ... tired ... or it malingers,

Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.

Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,

Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?

But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,

I am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it, after all,

After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,

Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,

Would it have been worth while,

To have bitten off the matter with a smile,

To have squeezed the universe into a ball

To roll it towards some overwhelming question,

To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,

Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—

If one, settling a pillow by her head

               Should say: “That is not what I meant at all;

               That is not it, at all.”

And would it have been worth it, after all,

Would it have been worth while,

After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—

And this, and so much more?—

It is impossible to say just what I mean!

But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

Would it have been worth while

If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,

And turning toward the window, should say:

               “That is not it at all,

               That is not what I meant, at all.”

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;

Am an attendant lord, one that will do

To swell a progress, start a scene or two,

Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,

Deferential, glad to be of use,

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;

Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—

Almost, at times, the Fool.

I grow old ... I grow old ...

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind?   Do I dare to eat a peach?

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves

Combing the white hair of the waves blown back

When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown

Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
 
Awesome post Henry Ford. You're not alone. And also, I recommend Don Julio 1942.  

 
My daughter is 4 1/2 and Christmas is so much fun now.  I wasn’t much of a Christmas guy before my daughter, I was never a humbug or anything but I always just enjoyed Thanksgiving so much more (all the great things about Christmas, family, friends and great food, without the presents nonsense).  But man has that changed.  I’m not sure anything is cooler then seeing the excitement in her eyes on Christmas Eve.  I type this having just finished setting up Santa’s visit and it’s heartwarming to think about how joyful she will be in the morning.  

Wishing you all the same joy my family and I will be feeling come Christmas morning.   

 
cosjobs said:
@KarmaPolice  @Leroy Hoard @Gr00vus  @ridicule@Anarchy99  @Moonlight  @technicaldifficulties  @johnnycakes @Mrs. Rannous @NREC34 @BroadwayG@Tecumseh  

Sorry if I tagged anyone multiple times. Trying to comprehend the @ feature. Evidently if I edit the first post and do it there, it doesn't notify anyone. Same if I quote the first post. This is harder than I expected/hoped. Please help me @ the community if you see anyone missing. All are welcome.
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It'd be great if we could take the feeling governing the interactions in this thread and apply that to all the threads in the PSF, all year long, I really appreciate the sentiment behind this thread @cosjobs. I think I'll try harder to do that myself at least.

 
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Gr00vus said:
It'd be great if we could take the feeling governing the interactions in this thread and apply that to all the threads in the PSF, all year long, I really appreciate the sentiment behind this thread @cosjobs. I think I'll try harder to do that myself at least.
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I appreciate the sentiments.

When there are two diametrically apposed, emotionally charged sides, things get heated.
I can longer comprehend the reasons why they support their side.

But what I can do and what I will try harder to do is understand their passion. And remember my kinship through them, strained as it may be, is still a kinship. With that basis and an understanding of their passion, I hope for more tolerance and acceptance.I believe without  that tolerance and acceptance from both sides, we are at a crisis point in our country, because we can no longer abide the overriding kinship beneath.

 
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Wife went to work at 6am and I slept in until nine and went to the movies. I saw Adam Sandler's film Uncut Gems. It was fantastic. I don't know that I'd recommend it for Christmas, but definitely most solid, a 4.5/5.

 
Then only place open for lunch was Luby's. 

So I went.

I'm actually a pretty big fan of Luby's, but some locations are much better than others. This wasn't one of the better ones, but it was near the theater and my house.

They had the longest line I had ever seen there. As I waited, I noticed about 80% of the trays going by had Turkey and Dressing. It didn't look so good to me so I ordered my usual comfort food: fried fish, mac n cheese, and spinach. First carbs I've had in three weeks and it wasn't particularly glorious. But it was comforting.

 
Henry Ford said:
Christmas Eve is a strange time for me. I always feel a bit like I’m watching the world from the outside.  I don’t believe in God and haven’t in a long time. But I believe in people.  In us.  I believe people, even when they aren’t, want to be generally good.  I believe people have a strong pull to move toward goodness, and right, and to help each other. And we see it every year around this time. 
 

Tough guys cry about Christmas miracles, people sing songs and hold hands and Good Will Toward Men and all of that.  And I guess I see that every year and wonder why we don’t do that more often. And hold the memories for a year of watching the way we live the rest of our lives. Because I need those memories for when watching what humanity is to each other outside this time comes close to driving me completely insane. 
 

So this time of year I don’t celebrate Jesus or Mary or the Wise Men. I don’t pray or go to see Christmas carols or go to church. But I try to watch more. Try to see all the things I forget all year, notice what we’re like when our primary focus is on each other and how even a story of love can change the world.  Or can keep it from changing. How the world’s glue is story, and the one we tell with our lives is the one that holds us together and fills the crevices between the broken pieces of us. And of others. Of all of us. 
 

I’ve lost the story I want to use to hold me together through the past few years more than usual. I find I believe less and less that people want to be good.  It worries me. Either I’ve been wrong all my life or I’m wrong now... or the world’s story is changing in ways I wish that it wouldn’t. The glue is changing.  I hope that’s not the case.  And I believe, in my heart of hearts, that for the most part - at least around here - that hasn’t changed. 
 

So thank you all.  Truly. And Merry Christmas Eve.  And Happy Hanukkah. And I wish you all joy, and hope, and love, and peace.  I hope your story is triumphant, at least for this day, and that it holds you together another year.  And I hope in the coming year that I am wrong right now.  That the world is more like this place and less like a place I grew up in a long time ago than it seems.  I hope it’s softer than the hardest bits and sweeter than the most bitter bits.  And I hope this year brings us all back there. 
 

Anyway, I think I like Michter’s bourbon.  Highly recommend. 
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bumpworthy

 
Henry Ford said:
Christmas Eve is a strange time for me. I always feel a bit like I’m watching the world from the outside.  I don’t believe in God and haven’t in a long time. But I believe in people.  In us.  I believe people, even when they aren’t, want to be generally good.  I believe people have a strong pull to move toward goodness, and right, and to help each other. And we see it every year around this time. 
 

Tough guys cry about Christmas miracles, people sing songs and hold hands and Good Will Toward Men and all of that.  And I guess I see that every year and wonder why we don’t do that more often. And hold the memories for a year of watching the way we live the rest of our lives. Because I need those memories for when watching what humanity is to each other outside this time comes close to driving me completely insane. 
 

So this time of year I don’t celebrate Jesus or Mary or the Wise Men. I don’t pray or go to see Christmas carols or go to church. But I try to watch more. Try to see all the things I forget all year, notice what we’re like when our primary focus is on each other and how even a story of love can change the world.  Or can keep it from changing. How the world’s glue is story, and the one we tell with our lives is the one that holds us together and fills the crevices between the broken pieces of us. And of others. Of all of us. 
 

I’ve lost the story I want to use to hold me together through the past few years more than usual. I find I believe less and less that people want to be good.  It worries me. Either I’ve been wrong all my life or I’m wrong now... or the world’s story is changing in ways I wish that it wouldn’t. The glue is changing.  I hope that’s not the case.  And I believe, in my heart of hearts, that for the most part - at least around here - that hasn’t changed. 
 

So thank you all.  Truly. And Merry Christmas Eve.  And Happy Hanukkah. And I wish you all joy, and hope, and love, and peace.  I hope your story is triumphant, at least for this day, and that it holds you together another year.  And I hope in the coming year that I am wrong right now.  That the world is more like this place and less like a place I grew up in a long time ago than it seems.  I hope it’s softer than the hardest bits and sweeter than the most bitter bits.  And I hope this year brings us all back there. 
 

Anyway, I think I like Michter’s bourbon.  Highly recommend. 
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Enjoyed the thoughts.  

I too share your concerns.  

My Christmas wish is that folks like yourself, and others on this forum and in “real life” continue to stand up for what’s right and just, and prevail in the end.  

We write our own histories, and of modern history, it’s one predominantly where the striving of good people overcomes the bad in the world. May it ever be so, and may I always cast my lot on the side of the righteous. 

 
Henry Ford said:
I hope it’s softer than the hardest bits and sweeter than the most bitter bits.  And I hope this year brings us all back there.
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I think, whatever we might have forgotten over the years in abandoning dark and harsh punishments and social approbation for perceived transgressions against a moving "good" that we've made up for in ensuring the hardest bits aren't so hard anymore. The modern world is no longer so nasty, brutish, and short. It is, however, leaving us with a truly profound set of crucial existential questions. What these questions and attempts at answering them are to you or I much more important than even physical life and death, given its passionate manifestation, or so it seems.

I'd ask for people maybe to see -- and hope that we are correct when we see the vehemence -- of our non-violent arguments as a sign that we are indeed closer to a place where the fundamental glue isn't changing, but calibrating its dialectic and aims through a flurry of debate in order to achieve a collective and individual good, as in an objective notion of what goodness, justice, and freedom and autonomy are. The world was dark in places for a long time. There will be, and was never, a place to avoid reality when light hit. But I have faith that what I just metioned is the cause, that our faith that we live in a unique place in the world and at a unique time is not hubris but bestowed honor, a place where we are able with great luxury to seek truth without the diabolical burdens and consequences life often places in front of people -- think of the twentieth century, even. 

So I hope that each one of my brothers and sisters in the forum have a blessed last three hours or six hours -- heck, can we hold out until Jan. 2? -- until real-life comes back to the fore and we struggle with the day-to-day. You have all been so kind and cool to each other in this thread, passionate and reasoned, like Henry's post from 5 PM yesterday. Good stuff.

 
rockaction said:
-- heck, can we hold out until Jan. 2? -- until real-life comes back to the fore and we struggle with the day-to-day. You have all been so kind and cool to each other in this thread, passionate and reasoned, like Henry's post from 5 PM yesterday. Good stuff.
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That's a good idea. I'll stay in here until then, I do read the PSF threads some, but I'm learning (maybe) to not get so riled up I need to respond. 

I doubt there's any response I want to make that can't wait until Jan 2.

 
cosjobs said:
That's a good idea. I'll stay in here until then, I do read the PSF threads some, but I'm learning (maybe) to not get so riled up I need to respond. 

I doubt there's any response I want to make that can't wait until Jan 2.
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New Year's Day (not the song, though I love it) has always been one of my favorite apolitical holidays. It reminds me of being young and in a city, surrounded by opportunity and wonder. I'm not prescribing a course of action for anyone, as I've been commenting in the PSF myself, but just to capture that spirit in the posts is a nice thought, or so I think.

 
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