The weather remained beautiful as I awoke to, much to my surprise, a quiet morning. There was no banging or cursing downstairs. The guys must have taken advantage of the beautiful morning to go fishing. I was able to read short stories and essays about Hanukkah, which started yesterday, in peace. I did a few poems, an essay on how the Jews chased their enemies out of Israel and the oil that lasted for eight days, an excerpt from one of the All-Of-A-Kind Family books about their Hanukkah celebrations in the early 20th century, and a touching story of a boy in the early 50's who is taken in by American relatives and feels overwhelmed by their big celebrations after his spare ones in the devastated Europe.
(And by the way, Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it! While I'm not Jewish, there were several Jewish families in Cape May when I was growing up in the 80's and early 90's. There were so many Jewish kids in my class, when my elementary school did a program that had each class learning about the holiday customs of different countries around the world, we got Israel. Some of the mothers made us potato pancakes, and we each got our own little plastic dreidel. We had that dreidel for years, and I still love potato pancakes to this day. There was a light-up wooden menorah on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May along with all the Christmas lights.)
Finished out the 1954 Christmas Carol as I ate cereal and half of a grapefruit for breakfast. Went into The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas as I did the dishes and rounded up the laundry. Ted E. Bear is more curious than most bears, who are content to hibernate all winter. He wants to know about Christmas. The other bears all think he's crazy, but he's determined to find just where this "Christmas" is. He wanders into the city, where he encounters a strange old man in a red suit who explains that Christmas isn't a place. It's a feeling...and he'll lend Ted a hand in finding that feeling.
I didn't make it to the laundromat until quarter of 12. And then, I had to go across the street to Amato Bros to cash one of the bills. The machine just wouldn't take it, no matter how hard I tried to straighten it. Otherwise, it was quiet when I came in. By the time it got busy, my small load was almost out of the drier. I listened to The View and Action News on Channel 6 and worked on notes for Babes In WENNland.
When I got in, I ran Santa Claus Is Coming to Town while putting my laundry away and having a quick lunch of scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and dried mushrooms. Rankin-Bass did this take on the Santa legends in 1970. This unique take on the Santa legends presents the famous toymaker as Kris Kringle, a foundling who eventually brings toys to the children of Somber Town. The nasty Burgermeister Meister Burger hates toys and wants to destroy them. Meanwhile, Kris does what he can to befriend the Winter Warlock, an old grouch who lives on the mountain near Somber Town
Work was...actually pretty quiet. It did get busy during rush hour, and we did have to call people up to deal with it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as last week or over the weekend. There were no major problems, and my relief was actually early.
When I got in, I put on another classic Rankin-Bass special while defrosting frozen green beans and almonds and the last leftover Merlin's Magic Chicken leg for dinner. The Little Drummer Boy is Aaron, a bitter orphan who became angry with humankind after bandits killed his parents. It takes an encounter with three wise men and a tiny baby who restores his injured lamb to make him understand the importance of loving your fellow man.
Worked on a little writing after I got out of the shower, mainly re-writing to make Alan and Lisa Mr. Eldridge's grandchildren. Betty turns Scott down for a date that night...but she agrees to go with him to the Christmas Festival. Maybe. That's enough for Scott. Pruitt Barnaby isn't as happy and reminds him that he should be at work in the Toyland Toy Factory.
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