A Christmas Card Nighthawk

Vol. 131, December 17th, 2024 Published a day early online

A Christmas Card

Around this time of year, but a while ago in life, the Christmas cards would start arriving. I’d fetch them from the old blue mailbox across the street, and Mom would hang them on a piece of yarn along the wall. The words from friends all over the country lit up the room.

I thought it would be cool to send you a sort of a card here, something to grab your hands back as you hold this paper, clap you on the shoulder, and thank you for being you. I know some of you. We write and talk and think and wonder, tapping a toe to the Elvis records, or wander across the night sky with a telescope, visiting lunar craters or the rings of Saturn.

Perhaps we’ve never met, or we only see each other in passing in the hall, while I load speakers or breeze through with a program. I hope we get to know each other in 2025. Oh, the stories you’ll tell me, the advice you’ll give, the strength you’ll impart, and the laughs we’ll share–it’s something I look forward to as I hop in my little red car and kick the gas pedal towards your place.

Nat sang it best: “Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you.” Although that bit about kids stopping at 92? Bosh. 92 is the new 35.

Obviously. Have a great Christmas.

And thanks for everything.

Quote of the Week

“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.”

–The ghost of Marley/A Christmas Carol

First in Flight

The Wright Brothers take to the skies today in Kitty Hawk, 1903.

Carol’s Appalachian Word of the Week

Dreen (Drain). “Boy, that old dreen is clogged bad!”

Book of the Week

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

Although it’s hard to beat the Muppets’ adaptation of Scrooge, the original book is worth a yearly read.

Speaking of Classics...

This icon from ‘46 remains a favorite for good reason. What an awesome movie, and a great reminder of what matters.

Letters from Josh

(A weekly update from Josh Urban’s adventures on the farm and in the city. #216)

Appearing in the Altavista Journal, etc: The Christmas Movie List

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to the show! “Hey, you look like...like...” The girl at the gym paused, thinking. I raised an eyebrow.

“Will Ferrell?”

“YEAH!”

Circus bears must have a cynical note in their roar. I had the same in mine. “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” I like the movie. But it was the gym, man. Why couldn’t she have thought I was Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle All The Way? (Besides the obvious, that is.) If I had a dollar for every Elf comparison...Maybe I should stop wearing the shirt with Buddy’s face on it, and the giant words SMILING IS MY FAVORITE.

Or only wear it in December. Whatever.

‘Tis the season for Christmas movies. What’s your go-to? My list changes some. There’s a theater in Lynchburg that shows the classics on the big screen. After a lifetime of living under a rock, I finally saw A Christmas Story. Brilliant! Ralphie’s vivid imagination is similar to mine.

I was sad after seeing The Polar Express. I’ll never be a conductor on that fictional train. Talk about the perfect job. Always said I’d like to work for the railroad.

Will Farrell look-alike aside, Elf is a must-see, and Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause series is essential. (“Cocoa is GOOD.”) It’s not Christmas without a Carol. The Muppets bring my favorite telling of Scrooge to the screen.

While many consider Hollywood of old to be the best (Miracle on 34th Street is tough to beat), I’d argue that a high-water mark of pointless comedy is found in the 90’s.

Schwarzenegger and Sinbad’s Jingle All The Way remains in the top three of my movie lists of all time (Christmas or otherwise). It’s become an influence, too. I use lines from it in unexpected places.

“I called back to hear your voicemail” the insurance guy said. “Love the ‘You’re my #1 customer’ reference.”

The season isn’t always jolly. My grandfather used to say “nobody dies on schedule”, and he passed proving himself right. Today marks 18 years that he’s been gone. Christmas reminds me of the empty chairs. Sometimes a brash movie and garish colors are jarring if times are tough. It’s dark now, too. It’ll be darkest before the dawn at 4:19 am on December 21st–the winter solstice, that is. But that means, starting on the 22nd, each day will be a little longer, with slightly more light, moving towards the summer. What a nice symbol, be it material, or spiritual.

In the darkest moments of the year, a spark, an increase of light, and salvation. What a blessing to celebrate that.

If you’re having a hard time, or a jolly one, It’s a Wonderful Life somehow manages to capture this idea, and more. So cue it up, and know that I’m glad we get to celebrate the season together.

As George Bailey would yell as he ran down the snowy street:

Merry Christmas, newspaper building!

–Josh