One Atheist's Holiday Season

Edgar---

Would that all of our aspiring authors showed such common sense.

May 2007 be the Year of the Screenplay.

My new theory is to produce a harrowing adventure story, devoid of intellectual pretense, the filming of which requires stunning visual effects, the ending being as unpredictably suspenseful as possible.

There was a question?? I wish we'd had more kids around for our Christmas. The youngest was a 14-year-old cousin on Christmas Eve. My kids are 22 & 23. We had fun though - we have child substitutes. Our Chows love Christmas. They get right into the spirit. Both gaily wear bows and are front & center in the living room during parties and sometimes nestle up on the sofa with the presents. One practically hums "The Little Drummer Boy" while playing with her brand-new squeaking duck (which had to be quickly hidden). Her sister & littermate loves to sneak dog bones out of a big box under the Christmas tree. They also get to enjoy the best walks when the whole family joins in.

<sigh> It's all over now... except the clean-up.



Your plan to write a screenplay and get it produced sounds good, Edgar. I hope you get all you can wish from it. When one year rolls into another is an especially excellent time for ambitious dreams. Best wishes for a happy, productive and imaginative New Year!

Edgar
I hope your play script will improve the quality of script writers' products. I've read a lot of movie scripts and most of them are really bad.

BBB

Now, wait a minute, BBB. Cervantes didn't have that kind of pressure. He wrote what he considered crap, for the money. What makes me different?

My Christmas season was just extended by a bit. - edgarblythe

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ?- Larry Stewart, a millionaire who became known around the world as Secret Santa, gave away $1.3 million anonymously during his too-short lifetime and set an example of generosity that will be difficult to match, friends said Sunday.
Stewart, a successful businessman from Lee's Summit, Mo., died Friday at age 58 from complications from esophageal cancer. For the past 27 years, he handed out money to the needy in Kansas City, Mo., and other cities during the Christmas season.

He told USA TODAY in December: "I see … looks of hopelessness turn to looks of hope in an instant. Isn't that what we were put here on Earth for ?- to help one another?"

Ted Horn, 88, a retired diner owner in Tupelo, Miss., who inspired Stewart to give away money, said Sunday: "I think he was an angel. The Lord needed another angel, so he called Larry home."

In the winter of 1971, Stewart was working as a door-to-door salesman in the little town of Houston, Miss., when he ran out of money. He hadn't eaten for almost two days when he went to the Dixie Diner and ordered breakfast, then acted as though he had lost his wallet.

Horn, the owner, picked up a $20 bill off the floor. "Son, you must have dropped this," he said.

"It was like a fortune to me," Stewart recalled. He paid and left. Later it dawned on him: Nobody had dropped the money. Horn had helped him out secretly. "Right then, I made a promise. I said, 'Lord, if you ever put me in a position to help other people, I will.' "

Eventually he moved to Kansas City, where he made money in cable television, then with his own long-distance phone company. He was married in the early 1970s and has adult children.

In 1979, just before Christmas, he stopped at a drive-in and ordered a hamburger and soft drink. He gave the carhop $20 and said, "Keep the change."

"You're kidding," she said. "No, ma'am. Merry Christmas," he said. She started sobbing and said, "Sir, you have no idea what this means to me."

It felt so good, Stewart said, he went to the bank, got more cash and started giving it away. He had no strict criteria; he sometimes worked with social service agencies, but much of the money he simply handed to people he saw on the street or in diners, pawnshops and fast-food places.

Stewart carefully guarded his identity for years; only his family and a few close friends knew the truth. He went public late last year and said he hoped his story would inspire others to become Secret Santas and carry on his tradition.

Thanks, Edgar.

de nada

That'd make a great TV show. This rich guy gives away a huge amount of money each week and the TV camera follows the recipient around.ORRR, people that hit the lottery. You follow them around until the moneys gone or they generate some story sized denoument of the payout. This could be big.

I'm updating the season this time. I came into the colorized version of "Scrooge," the Allistair Simm version of "A Christmas Carol." Oh, we be rocking this year.

Re: Edgar


Um, yes; well, what happened, as I began the second part, I googled the topic of my work, and discovered a film already in the works that too closely mirrored my effort. I sought to go on and finish it, but it became increasingly apparent that the other work would freeze mine out of the market. I sputtered to a stop. The up side is, I am at work on a different one now.

The colourized version of that just isn't the same as the black and white one, in my opinion. Just doesn't have the same appeal to me.

My gift to you will be
More than a prize
Underneath a Christmas tree

Wise and wonderful bride
A star will take us
For a magical ride

Soon you will see
The world below us will be
A jewel in the mist

O'er it we pause
Shocking Santa Claus
With a long lover's kiss

My love for you will be
More than a prize
More than a prize

(repeat)

Believe
Believe in magic
Disbelieve and it's tragic
Tiny elves 'round the Christmas tree
Helping Santa; for, it's Christmas Eve

Now the children sleep, safe and warm
Exhausted from going since early morn
Each believing Santa speaks their name
When he brings out toys and dolls and games
The grownups, too, as excited as they
Cannot wait for the light of Christmas Day
Then they gather all around the tree
And ask, "Is that a present, from you to me?"

And I believe in Santa Claus
Sure as windows have frost
And tiny elves, flying reindeer, too
I'd like to share it all with you

We are not going to spend money on Christmas (Well, just a little bit). There is a magical quality to this day that doesn't require a credit card.

It is a sad day for us, here. A woman I have worked for, in my capacity of maintenance man, has died, and we lost our assistant manager. She was let go for giving a key to the deceased woman's apartment to her children, without they first producing a power of attorney. Well, I suppose life will look a little brighter in the coming days. I hope there will be no more bad news for a while.

My daughter has purchased tickets for mrs edgarblythe and me to visit her in Denver, Christmas week. That's nice. I don't know when or if we could have gotten there on our own.

Edgar--

You'll have a Mile High Christmas--enjoy.

Looks that way. I really need the diversion.

Edgar


How about taking a ride from Denver to Albuquerque before you return home? Believe it or not, ABQ has a nice airport.

BBB