You can't help but hear holiday jokes now and then...laughter is good for the soul as long as it's not at someone else's expense (wait 'til you read my "Fried Fridays" entry coming this week...).
Just picture a cat taking a leisurely stroll on the beach, say, at Emerald Isle. A gentle warm breeze blowing off the land, small waves lapping at the shore...how is that like Christmas?
Sandy claws.
Digressing for a moment (imagine that...), I used to own a turquoise '57 Chevy and sold it to fix up a '57 Cadillac...back then cars had personality, all distinctive and many very attractive, in design if not color combinations. No doubt American car makers went through a long ugly period of sameness and unreliablity...even now many cars don't stand out too much from their competitors at first glance.
I say all that to get you thinking about cars. The 3 wise men actually went to Bethlehem in a car, not on camels, to see the newborn baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Says so right there in the bible that they rode in a Honda.
They went in one Accord.
Which now leads me to digress further about information that popped up out of the blue that I'd never thought about. It's amazing how many conventional thoughts we have about all kinds of things, and we accept them as true, mainly just being raised knowing it no other way.
Case in point: nowhere does the bible speak of just 3 wise men. There were 3 types of gifts mentioned (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), but not 3 individual kings...and they are never mentioned as 'kings', anyway, and they certainly didn't have names. All of that type of lore and 'knowledge' has been added from outside biblical sources through the centuries.
Yet we have that imagery indelibly printed, figuratively and literally, don't we? "We Three Kings of Orient Are..." Lest we not forget, the wisemen were not at the manger scene (shepherds were, however.) The wisemen apparently arrived much later as they went "into a house" and visited a 'young child'.
Oh, I'll keep singing the song and picturing things as I have since childhood, enjoying all the magic...just goes a good reminder that not everything or every fact is as it may appear to be, and that we are free to examine things and come up with our own thoughts. And wouldn't it be great if we would just celebrate every day as if it were every holiday and celebration wrapped up into one?
Ah, now THAT would be truly living...
Just picture a cat taking a leisurely stroll on the beach, say, at Emerald Isle. A gentle warm breeze blowing off the land, small waves lapping at the shore...how is that like Christmas?
Sandy claws.
Digressing for a moment (imagine that...), I used to own a turquoise '57 Chevy and sold it to fix up a '57 Cadillac...back then cars had personality, all distinctive and many very attractive, in design if not color combinations. No doubt American car makers went through a long ugly period of sameness and unreliablity...even now many cars don't stand out too much from their competitors at first glance.
I say all that to get you thinking about cars. The 3 wise men actually went to Bethlehem in a car, not on camels, to see the newborn baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Says so right there in the bible that they rode in a Honda.
They went in one Accord.
Which now leads me to digress further about information that popped up out of the blue that I'd never thought about. It's amazing how many conventional thoughts we have about all kinds of things, and we accept them as true, mainly just being raised knowing it no other way.
Case in point: nowhere does the bible speak of just 3 wise men. There were 3 types of gifts mentioned (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), but not 3 individual kings...and they are never mentioned as 'kings', anyway, and they certainly didn't have names. All of that type of lore and 'knowledge' has been added from outside biblical sources through the centuries.Yet we have that imagery indelibly printed, figuratively and literally, don't we? "We Three Kings of Orient Are..." Lest we not forget, the wisemen were not at the manger scene (shepherds were, however.) The wisemen apparently arrived much later as they went "into a house" and visited a 'young child'.
Oh, I'll keep singing the song and picturing things as I have since childhood, enjoying all the magic...just goes a good reminder that not everything or every fact is as it may appear to be, and that we are free to examine things and come up with our own thoughts. And wouldn't it be great if we would just celebrate every day as if it were every holiday and celebration wrapped up into one?
Ah, now THAT would be truly living...
2 comments:
Hi Bob,
very well put indeed, Christmas should be everyday, we are headed home for christmas tommorrow (Richmond, Va.) and (Washington, D.C.
Merry Christmas to our favorite met Aggie Ladies.... Da Shawn, Monica, Lisa and Nicole
As the ol' saying goes, "Keep it between the ditches" as ya drive! May your travels be safe, your family times be warm and rich, and may you return to school with a 'renewed' vigor to make your mark on this ol' planet, whatever it is. Sending peace and good wishes all y'all's way...
Bob
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