Old Days Old Times Old Friends

Never a Christmas Morning
Never the Old Year ends
but Somebody thinks of Somebody
Old days Old times Old friends

We are not certain of the origin of the above. Christmas and the end of another year is certainly a time for refection. It is a time when many of us make resolutions. Perhaps simply a vow to do better covers it all!

Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne or "For old times' Sake..." is associated not only with New Year's Eve but often sung at farewells of any kind.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup!
and surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o'kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS:

We two have run about the shopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS:

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine';
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS:

And there's a hand my trust friend!
And give us a hand o'thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS:
Scottish poet, Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796.

Loss of a Friend

Today we go to a funeral for an old friend. Suddenly, the joys of Christmas, family laughter and future dreams fade with the passing of a husband, a father and a grandfather. Plans for the new year are lost in sadness and in sorrow.


We are thinking of those many folks for whom hearts are heavy at this time of year. May we hold dear, precious memories of our loved ones.

Walt Witman's words serve as a reminder:


"Thanks in old age ~ thanks ere I go,
For health, the midday sun, the impalpable air ~ for life, mere life,
For precious ever-lingering
memories, (of you my mother dear ~ you,
father ~ you, brothers, sisters, friends.)
For all my days..."

Mark Twain

Your smile for today ~


"When I was younger I could remember anything whether it happened or not."

~ Mark Twain, American author, 1835 - 1910

Olympic Torch in Cayuga

Torchbearer #129, Fizan Jaffar from Montreal, Quebec, ran in Cayuga, Ontario on Monday, December 21, 2009. Fizan was not able to take pictures of his historic run; if anyone has photographs, he would be pleased to have them.

Please contact Fizan through The Neat Little Bookshop blog at lbwalker@shaw.ca

Munsee St., Hwy. 54, to the Town of Haldimand Administration Building. December 21, 2009

Letters to Santa

All Good Boys and Girls

Boxing Day

In Britain and many Commonwealth countries, Boxing Day, December 26, is a legal holiday. The term is commonly attributed to the parish church alms boxes which were opened on December 26 and distributed to the poor.

However, the term may go as far back as medieval times when earthenware boxes were kept by English servants and apprentices for the purpose of begging for gratuities. These boxes were often rudely made with a slit cut in the top to admit the coins. At the end of the day, the boxes were broken ~ like piggy banks.

It was the custom for English employees to solicit tips during the Christmas season from their employer as well as those people with whom their employer did business. As early as the 15th century, this practice had become a nuisance and in the 7th year of King Henry the Fifth, it was ordered that "no valet, or other sergeant of the Mayor [of London], Sheriffs, or City, should in future beg or require of any person, of any rank, degree, or condition whatsoever, any moneys, under colour of an oblation, or in any other way, on pain of losing his office."

(Comment: Interesting, the evolution to our modern-day frenzy of half-priced merchandise and long lineups of frantic shoppers. I am trying to sort that one out in my mind.)

Source: Christmas Planning and Memory Book, Tree Communications Inc., 1981.
The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Gerry Bowler, McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2000.

A Christmas Carol

"What's today?" cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.
"Eh?" returned the boy with all his might of wonder.
"What's to-day, my fine fellow?" said Scrooge.
"To-day!" replied the boy, "Why, CHRISTMAS DAY."

..."I don't know what to do!" cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath, and making a perfect Laocoon of himself with his stockings. "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy, I am as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world !"

"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow!"

And with that, old Scrooge set about to make up for all his years of miserliness and neglect of family and friends.

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, 1915.

Bethlehem

Revered by the world's Christians, Muslims and Jews, the Holy Land offers not only a spiritual background , but a historic one as well. Jesus was born in a small town in Galilee called Bethlehem. Because many people had returned to Bethlehem to be registered in the census, the inns were all full. The only available accommodation was an animal shelter. The stories surrounding Jesus' birth continue to interest believers and nonbelievers.

The regions of Galilee, Israel, Samaria and Judea were the areas where Jesus traveled, taught and preached. Samaria today, for example, is a fascinating archaeological city. Jerusalem, the last city that Jesus visited, is a city of tourist attractions and ~ shepherds still tending their flocks roam the hills surrounding Nazareth.

Source: Journey to the Land of Jesus, Publications International Ltd., 1992.

Challenge of Getting Published

When songwriter Johnny Marks penned the famous lyrics that summarized the Rudoph story, he couldn't interest any music publisher in his new song. Believing in his work, he founded his own St. Nicholas Music Publishing Company.
Then with Rudoph being the marketing creation of a department store, no singer was willing to take a chance with a song. Marks was turned down by Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and Perry Como before Gene Autry, "The Singing Cowboy," recorded it in 1949, selling 2,000,000 copies in the first year alone and launching Rudoph to further success.
The reindeer went on to appear in movies and books (in dozens of languages) and his image was used for a host of marketing devices, books and toys.

Today, children everywhere know the little reindeer that didn't quite fit in until someone ~ one individual ~ believed in him.

Happy Christmas Eve everyone.

Source: The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Gerry Bowler, McClelland & Stewart, 2000.

Origin of Rudolph

Businesses strive for the perfect marketing strategy. One of the most successful marketing coups of all time was a promotional giveaway for Chicago's Montgomery Ward department store. So was born Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

Advertising editor, Robert Lewis May (1905-1976) came up with an illustrated booklet with a Christmas poem that families could read every year. The story was about a friendless reindeer to whom Santa Claus would assign the responsibility of guiding his sleigh. The artwork was done by Denver Gillen based on sketches made while visiting the Chicago zoo. Robert May wrote the poem based on his own lonely childhood. Throughout the 1940's, the company handed out millions of the books.

Source: The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Gerry Bowler, McClelland & Stewart, 2000.
Tomorrow: The shaky start for the song, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Notes of Friendship

Dear friends sent the following to us. We pass it on to you:

Notes of Friendship

I treasure all my Christmas cards;
They mean so much to me,
Each one from someone special whom
I'd so much like to see.

Some come from friends I don't oft see ~
They live too far away ~
Their cards are like a friendly smile
That brightens Christmas Day.

The message each one brings to me
From friends on my own street,
Is like a gift that's wrapped with love,
Each one a yuletide treat.

I'm thankful for these lovely cards
That come to me each year ~
These precious notes of friendship with
Their greetings of good cheer.

And I wish for you this Christmas all
The joy the season brings;
Peace, good health, and lots of love ~
The best of everything.

by Lela Meredith

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Captivated by the plight of poor rejected Rudolph with few friends, Elizabeth asked her mother if Rudolph is real. This is an interesting ~ if not startling ~ query from a two-year old ~ just turning three. Elizabeth had noticed that in all her Christmas books Santa had eight reindeer with no evidence of the most famous reindeer of all! Grandpa saved the moment by pointing out that it was not until one foggy night that Rudolph leaped into action and led Santa's sleigh.
Even a two-year old understands the meaning of being accepted and having friends.

This much loved song was written by Johnny Marks in 1949.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen but do you recall the most famous rein-deer of all?
RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REIN-DEER had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games; Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say: "Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight;" Then how the reindeer loved him as they shouted out with glee: "RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REIN-DEER, you'll go down in history."

Tomorrow: The origin of Rudolph

Black Peter or Zwarte Piet

Gift-bringers vary around the world. In Canada, children wait expectantly for Santa Claus and his eight reindeer. In the Netherlands, St. Nicholas is accompanied by Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter. Black Peter tosses candy to children but also threatens to stuff bad kids into his sack and take them back with him to Spain.
I met Black Peter one time. I was taking photos for a weekly newspaper. Children were climbing all over St. Nicholas assisted by Black Peter. As I focused for the perfect shot ~ everyone smile ~ nothing happened. Had Black Peter jinxed me? Not a battery to be found. Not in my camera. Not in my bag.
My three sons and their Dad had stolen the batteries for a batteries-not-included toy and left me to explain. I did get the picture after a quick trip to the store but I have never forgotten Black Peter who is said to stuff bad kids into his sack.

Caledonia Mill Light-Show

http://www.joelsmithphotography.ca/

Multiple lights dancing, skipping, spinning ~ an amazing synchronization with music and the voices of two snowmen ~ tune in to 88.1 ~ the Christmas light-show at the old mill is worth the drive to Caledonia.

The work of Mike Montgomery and Adam Harrison, with the help of their "many elves," this is an impressive display sponsored by local businesses and community-minded individuals.

Show begins every evening at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 11:00 p.m. (Friday and Saturday 11:30 p.m.) Go to the historical Caledonia bridge on Hwy. #6. The 1800s mill can be viewed on the southwest bank of the Grand River. There is convenient parking. Turn out your lights.

Truly a tribute to the spirit of a town abandoned in many ways in recent years by all levels of government and law enforcement. Congratulations, Caledonia.

Photography by: St. Catharines', Joel Smith. For larger image, click on photo. We are indebted to Joel for sending to us the above photo. For more of Joel's work and a glimpse into the daily life of an amazing photographer, visit his website and blog at: http://www.joelsmithphotography.ca/

Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men

"The best Christmas gift one can bestow on a child or friend is a happy memory. Money cannot buy it, but it may be procured by the poorest. It can be had by a draft upon patience or a check upon ill temper, which may be changed for the coin of kind words, each bearing the imprint, 'Peace on earth, good will to men.' "

From "The New York Times," December 23, 1894.

Photo: Courtesy of J. Walker

Soldiers' Stories

Saturday, December 19,

10:30 - 1:00.

Retired O.P.P., author Kirk Du Guid, will be signing books at The Neat Little Bookshop.

In his most recent book, Soldiers' Stories, Du Guid tells the stories of twenty-five Canadian veterans most of whom are from the Town of Haldimand.

First Cold Case is a tale of true crime in which the author and his officer partner take on a horrific unsolved murder in small-town Ontario.

Photo: by Lorna. Click on for enlarged Image

Christmas Cards

"John Meagher had to engage a horse and wagon yesterday to deliver the mails in the city," so announced the Halifax Herald on December 27, 1898. Apparently the custom of sending Christmas cards began in the Victorian era in England in the 1840s around the time when Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree, and Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. The first cards were handmade but by the end of the 1840s they were being marketed publicly. The scenes generally featured mistletoe and yule logs.

Canadians started making their own Christmas cards around the 1870's and often the illustrations had nothing to do with Christmas such as outdoor scenes by artists Cornelius Krieghoff and William Barlett. Religious themes and Santa Claus seldom appeared. Sleigh scenes, winter sports, children in the snow, and above all snowshoeing were popular themes and Canada by name was commonly included for folks corresponding with the old country.

By the 1880s cards were popular enough to start overloading the post office. In December 1881, the Toronto letter-carriers were often toting forty pounds of mail at a time, and extra men had to be hired to handle the Christmas rush.
Source: Canadian Christmas Book by Caroline Carver
Tundra Books of Montreal/Collins Publishers, Toronto 1975

Good News Toronto ~ Our Everyday Heroes

We meet a lot of fascinating people in the Neat Little Bookshop. Kirk Mathieson, a Toronto-based freelance writer, came in one day in the summer and was kind enough to later send us two issues of Good News Toronto ~ Our Everyday Heroes. Stories of acts of kindness, generosity, hope and bravery fill this inspiring little newspaper.

Perhaps one letter to editor, Eva Karpati, says it best, "I was on the bus when I saw someone reading Good News Toronto. It looked very interesting. I asked her if I could have it when she finished. She passed it on to me and I read it cover to cover. This is exactly what we need because we hear too much negative news."

First of all, it is difficult to imagine strangers on a city bus chatting over a newspaper. Or perhaps this is exactly the reaction that good news can foster.

To read some of Kirk's articles and others, visit "the little paper with the big heart." Website: http://www.goodnewstoronto.ca/

Suspense Writing

In her wonderful autobiography, Kitchen Privileges, Mary Higgins Clark describes one approach to writing Suspense.
She refers to the old Hansel and Gretal tale in which Hansel dropped smooth stones and Gretel dropped breadcrumbs. The birds, of course, ate the breadcrumbs.
"The mystery/suspense writer is dropping both smooth stones and breadcrumbs. The smooth stones are ambiguous statements, never cheating the reader, but sometimes leading them astray. The breadcrumbs are the real clues to the perpetrator of the crime and the solution of the plot." Clark claims that this method of writing has never let her down.

Kitchen Privileges A Memoir by Mary Higgins Clark, Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Tiger Woods

I sincerely hope that there are at least a few more women on Tiger's list of indiscretions that we have not heard from, and won't.

How can I say that, you ask? I would like to believe that somewhere, someone is not compelled to hit the media ~ some individual who could resist the payoff and publicity that comes with the thrill of jumping into bed with a celebrity and announcing it.

It is unfathomable to me that there are self-serving females ~ nine and counting ~ who put their own self-love and narcissism before the pain and suffering of someone elses' children. Unbelievable. Is there such a thing as human decency?

No, that is not Tiger in the photo. It is my own loving family. Photo used without permission. Thanks and apologies, guys.

And let's not fire off comments about the philandering male. We are talking about the women here.

McMaster University Newspaper ~ theSil

Opportunities for writing or journalism are everywhere around us if we take a look. Most successful writers began at an early age to keep a journal or try their hand - or pen - at short stories, essays or poetry. Today, the Internet has opened up a whole new world for would-be writers. Think Twitter, Blog or YouTube!
Newspapers everywhere are in transition. Articles appear on-line as soon as they are in the paper. Freelance writers are welcome where full-time reporters are disappearing.

Check out a university newspaper. theSil, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario ~ and one young author, Grace Evans. http://thesil.ca/blog/author/grace-evans/

Your smile for today ~

"At a dinner party, one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely."
~ W. Somerset Maugham, English Writer 1874 - 1965

(According to Martha Stewart, "The cocktail party is probably America's greatest contribution to the world of entertaining." )

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in the Sun it's so.' Please tell me the truth: is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon.

The wise editor's thoughtful reply to eight year old Virginia led to one of the most famous editorial articles ever written:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance, to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virgina, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

~ Francis Pharcellus Church, The Sun, 1897. New York, U.S.A.

Dear Santa

Saturday, December 5th, 11:00 a.m. the jolly old fellow comes to Cayuga.

The Santa Claus Parade begins on Munsee St. S. at the J. L. Michener Public School. Follows Munsee (Hwy. #54) to Talbot Rd. (Hwy. #3). Turns left on Ottawa St.

There are numerous profiles of gift-bringers around the world. In Cayuga, the arrival of the bespectacled, whiskered, red and white clad Santa heralds the Christmas Season.

Your smile for today ~

"I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward."

~ Sir John Mortimer
English Barrister and Author, 1923 - 2009

New and Used Books

"New and Used Books/ Your Favourite Authors...," our ad reads. We are frequently asked by puzzled customers, "Are these new?" The Neat Little Bookshop prides itself on carrying only new and like-new books ~ never musty, smoky or mangled ~ so our books are easily taken as new.

Fortunately for our planet, there is an ever-growing popular philosophy of Recycle/Reuse/Re-read. (In addition, the nostalgic aspect of the lovely old book never loses its appeal.)

The ad ends with "The coffee pot's always on..." So come in, visit The Neat Little Bookshop and Go Green!

First Christmas Card

Today, on the first day of December, the first snowflakes and our first beautiful Christmas card arrived.

Parts of Ontario apparently broke a record this year ~ this is the first time since the '30s that there was a snow-free November.

Christmas in Ontario by Cheryl MacDonald describes the traditional country sleigh rides, church bells, singing, family gatherings around the Christmas tree, gifts and of course the festive turkey dinner.

Visit http://heronwoodent.ca/ for more Canadian stories by local author, Cheryl MacDonald. Books available at The Neat Little Bookshop.