MERRY CHRISTMAS!
And the angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people to rejoice.”
MERRY CHRISTMAS, friends!
WOW, did I ever have a wonderful Christmas Eve day yesterday!
Friends and family are what it’s all about!
Yes, I talked to my friends and family on the phone.
Happiness! Laughter! And memory shares!
And I had a surprise visit from my very dear friends Carol and Toby.
They rolled up in their Rolls Royce (yep, a beautiful Rolls Royce which is just one of many in their car collection) bearing gifts of —
A large loaf of outstanding smoked cheese enchilada meatloaf, a one-of-a-kind-piece-of-art handmade vintage quilt stocking stuffed full of wonderfuls + their warm hugs and smiling faces.
The Christmas kind of treasured love that only family and friends know how to do.
Totally made my everything Christmas Eve Day.
Thanks Carol and Toby!
Especially the part where you two took the time to present the gifts in person.
So meaningful and will never be forgotten.
Grateful.
PRESENTING WEDNESDAY READER
This Christmas Day 2024.
Today’s post is abbreviated because, no doubt, we’re all engaging and hanging out with the close people in our world (as is should be).
AS ALWAYS
We are so grateful for your time, love and support reading us + commenting + sharing.
Humbled and joy filled.
Ready?
Set.
Here we go.
Enjoy.
POP QUIZ
- PATRICIA REICHARDT, BETTER KNOWN AS PEPPERMINT PATTY, IS A CHARACTER IN WHICH COMIC STRIP?
a) “Bloom County”
b) “Brenda Starr”
c) “Dick Tracy”
d) “Peanuts” - WHO WAS HEMINGWAY TALKING ABOUT WHEN HE SAID, “I NEVER HAD ANY RESPECT FOR HIM EVER, EXCEPT FOR HIS LOVELY, GOLDEN, WASTED TALENT”?
a) F. Scott Fitzgerald
b) Pablo Picasso
c) Ezra Pound
d) Gene Tunney - TRADITION SAYS THAT BOXING DAY, OBSERVED ON DECEMBER 26, IS A TIME TO DO WHAT?
a) Challenge the enemies to fight
b) Fly kites
c) Give gifts to charity
d) Throw out the boxes and wrapping from Christmas Day
QUICK QUESTION
HAVE YOU EVER LAID DOWN IN FRESH FALLEN SNOW
AND MADE YOUR VERY OWN PERSONAL SNOW ANGEL?
POP QUIZ ANSWERS
- Peppermint Patty joined the “Peanuts” gang in 1966.
- In a letter to a friend, Ernest Hemingway lamented F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “lovely, golden, wasted talent.”
- Boxing Day is a traditional day for giving gifts to charity.
~ COPYRIGHT 2024 LESLIE ELMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
AN UNFORGETTABLE
CHRISTMAS EVE 1932
BY HARRIETTE MILLER
~ This story was written by my grandma to our family in her family book, “My Life.”
I’ve never forgotten it, nor has anyone who’s ever heard or read it.
Here’s the story she wrote:
I have told you the story of our early married life in 1931.
That period of time was called THE GREAT DEPRESSION.
So many people were hungry and there were no government “hand outs” at that time.
We were 21 years old at that time and Leon had accepted a position with a large dairy outside of Dallas Texas.
We lived in a two room apartment in a made over older house.
Rent was $4.00/week and that was high.
Leon had a higher salary than most people — it was $23.33/week.
His working hours were from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm – 7 days a week.
We had a six month old baby boy to share our home.
We were so thankful to have a job and wouldn’t complain about long hours.
Leon’s sack lunch every day was a sandwich of peanut butter with jelly or pickles or both.
The weather was too warm to take most kinds of perishable food.
He would buy a bottle of milk for lunch each day to help his peanut butter go down. Oh, how he enjoyed his milk!
We ate breakfast every morning at 5:00 am and supper at 8:00 pm.
We had no car so Leon walked two miles to work every day.
On this particular Christmas Eve, Leon came home sad with the news, “I saw a man get fired today because of his inability to produce. I know he could not work because he has no food. Do we have any food we can share with that family?”
I had gone shopping that day for our supplies for Christmas dinner. So we filled two grocery bags with everything we had.
We’d also been given candy and a bag of oranges which helped.
Leon then walked the 2 miles back across a pasture and through fences to get to the shack where the folks lived.
He got back just before midnight and said, “The family was hungry and showed no signs of Christmas in their home. They thanked us over and over for sharing with them.”
The next morning, Christmas Day, he went to work as usual. (Dairy cows don’t know about Christmas!)
Our food supply was gone but that night as Leon came home from work, our landlady met with a plate of food from their Christmas dinner.
We had a Christmas dinner we could never forget.
THE GIFT OF LOVE.
THE GIFT OF PEACE.
THE GIFT OF HAPPINESS.
MAY ALL THESE BE YOURS THIS CHRISTMAS DAY!
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED:
REMIND YOURSELF TO BE PATIENT.
Fascinating Stuff
+ Brasher O. Westerfield, William Genich and Father Gregory Keller all patented machines for mass-producing candy canes. Westerfield also patented a system for packaging candy canes nestled together two in a box. The National Confectioners Association says that 58% of candy cane eaters start at the straight end, 30% start with the hook and 12% break their candy canes into pieces before eating them.
+ The library at the State University of New York at Buffalo has in its collection a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s 1929 novel, “A Farewell to Arms” that Hemingway gave as a gift to James Joyce. Hemingway personalized the book by penciling in all the swearwords that had been removed by his editor before publication.
+ Munich Airport in Germany has its own on-site brewery offering signature beers with names such as Aviator and Kumulus. What else would you expect from the city that gave us Oktoberfest? Seasonal brews include Krampus, a dark winter brew named for the German folklore character who’s St. Nick’s devilish sidekick and punisher of naughty children.
+ When he wasn’t composing sonnets and odes, Lord Byron, the 19th-century poet, spent his free time sparring at a gym owned by a “Gentleman” John Jackson, a British boxing champion. Byron might have been pudgy and a little slow on his feet, but he loved to mix it up in the ring. He called boxing a “most unpoetical exercise, (yet) very wholesome.”
+ Humphrey Bogart was born in New York City on Christmas Day 1899. As a young man, he enlisted in the Navy and did a tour of duty on the USS Leviathan, where, the story goes, he got into a fight and received a bad cut on his lip. The stitches on the wound left a scar, and that’s how Bogie developed his characteristic sneer. (At least that’s one version of the story!)
~ COPYRIGHT 2024 LESLIE ELMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
I know you said today’s Daymaker was abbreviated but you didn’t miss a beat. Such a heartwarming story by your dear grandmother. How many of us would be so unselfish. . .
Beautiful artwork. Fun facts. Terrific issue. Merry Christmas!!!