It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
“The
earth has grown old with its burden of care,
But at Christmas it always is young.”
- Phillips Brooks
(13 Dec 1835 - 23 Jan 1893)
|
|
||
|
|
12/14/16 - NNHS Newsletter - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas “The
earth has grown old with its burden of care,
- Phillips Brooks |
|
Dear Friends and Schoolmates,
This is another
sentimental favorite - well, of mine, anyway!
BONUS #1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZAwoip5aY - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby
BONUS #2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGBie5pT9nw - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis
BONUS #3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmc9gfowJmk - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters, 1951
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_Beginning_to_Look_a_Lot_Like_Christmas;
| "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a
Christmas song written in 1951 by
Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning
to Look Like Christmas". The song has been recorded by many artists,
but was a hit for
Perry Como and
The Fontane Sisters with
Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra on September 10, 1951, and released
on
RCA Victor as 47-4314 (45 rpm) and 20-4314 (78 rpm).
Bing Crosby recorded a version on October 1, 1951, which was also
widely played.
A popular belief in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, holds that Willson wrote the song while staying in Yarmouth's Grand Hotel.[1] The song makes reference to a "tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well..."; the park being Frost Park, directly across the road from the Grand Hotel, which still operates in a newer building on the same site as the old hotel.[2] "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" was later incorporated into the pre-Broadway version of the score of Willson's 1963 musical Here's Love and can be heard on that show's original cast recording, where it is sung in counterpoint to a new melody and lyric, "Pinecones and Holly Berries..." |
THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS:
Happy Birthday today to
Elizabeth Mitchell Hedgepeth ('57) AND
Kathie Avant
Taylor ('64) of GA!
Happy Birthday tomorrow to
Jewell Hamner Crowe
('57) AND
Buster
Vest ('63) of VA!
Happy Birthday this week to:
16 -
Betty Brockwell McClure ('58) of
MA;
17 -
Norma Helmick Burks ('63) AND 
Tom Oxner
('65) of AR;
18 - James Strickland ('57);
19 - Durwood Adams ('57)
AND 
the late Suzie
Bauz ('63)
(deceased 11/03/14);
20 -
Ellen Carney Manson ('63) of SC;
21 -
Ray Stinnette ('63) of VA!
Many Happy
Returns, One and All!
THIS DAY IN WWII:
|
December 14, 1939 -
Winter War:
The
Soviet Union was expelled from the
League of Nations for invading
Finland.
December 14, 1941 -
Japan signed a
treaty of alliance with
Thailand. December 14, 1999 - U.S. and German negotiators agreed to establish a $5.2 billion fund for Nazi-era slave and forced laborers. |
THIS DAY IN
1966:
|
| “Here is something
more than a babe in a manger; here is the creator of all that is good
and beautiful. I have looked at majestic mountains rising high against
the blue sky and thought of Jesus, the creator of heaven and earth. I
have stood on the sand of an island in the Pacific and watched the dawn
rise like thunder--a ball of gold surrounded by clouds of pink and white
and purple--and thought of Jesus, the Word by whom all things were made
and without whom was not anything made that was made. I have seen a
beautiful child--bright-eyed, innocent, loving, and trusting--and
marveled at the majesty and miracle of creation. What then shall we do
with Jesus who is called Christ?”
-
Gordon
B. Hinckley, December, 1983 |
(In response to
  George
Helliesen's question on
12/12/16 - Feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe):There's one more possible solution that's been floating around in the back of my mind for some time, which I've seen on some of my own incoming email; I've adapted for our use here: "To ensure your NNHS65 email is delivered to your inbox, be sure to add thecluckmeat@yahoo.com AND nnhs65@yahoo.com to your email address book or contact list."
It's worth a try.
|
| SHOCKED that you did include the
new APPLE commercial in your report on Home for the Holidays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFPcsYGriEs
Thank you, Frank!
|
 |
SUPER
PLAN! Thank
you, Jean!
|
|
|
“ A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”
- Steve Martin(b. 14 Aug 1945) |
From George Helliesen ('61) of VA
-
11/20/16 - "Four Legged Soldiers (#24 in a series of 30)":
 |
MORE WOWZERS!
Thanks, George!
|
|
 |
Thanks, Shari!
|
|
BONUS
CHRISTMAS STORY:
| Merry Christmas. A dear
friend sent this to me. If you haven’t seen it, enjoy it. :’) Joan |
| The old man sat in his gas
station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been anywhere in years since
his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate
Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting
there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and
wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man
stepped through. Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy, I'll just go." "Not without something hot in your belly." George said. He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're done, there's coffee and it's fresh." Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me, be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away. "But Mister, please help." The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good." George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ones." George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought. George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered that the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on. "Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car anyway. As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me." George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. "Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anything he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance." The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area." George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time you’re gonna be right as rain." George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked. "None for me," said the officer. "Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time. The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before. "That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer. "Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt." The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!" The cop reached for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to him, "we got one too many in here now." He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pea shooter away." George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week." George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can." He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out." The young man stopped crying, and looked at the cop. "Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry, officer." he said. "Shut up and drink your coffee," the policeman said. George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two policemen came through the door, guns drawn. "Chuck! You OK?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer. "Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?" "GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man. Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran." George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. "That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued. "Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job." The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?" Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks for everything." "Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems." George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day." The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you." "And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories. That's all I need." George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours." The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too," George said. "Now git home to your family." The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good." "Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after." George turned around and found the stranger had returned. "Where'd you come from? I thought you'd left?" "I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?" "Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was gettin' a little chubby." The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor. “The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man." George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man. "Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again." The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned." George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room. "You see, George... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas." George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus." This story is better than any greeting card. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS! Now clear the lump from your throat, blow your nose, and send this along to a friend of yours or someone who may need a reminder as to why we celebrate Christmas. Tomorrow is not promised, - Cherish today! |
Thank you so much for sharing this story, Joan!
|
|
BONUS
CHRISTMAS STORY:From My Friend, Tammy, of UT - 12/07/14 - "Daily Christmas Story (#12 in a Series of 24)":
| This year I decided to
share some of my favorite Christmas stories and quotes. It is a
tradition in our family to read a Christmas story every night in
December culminating with the Nativity on the 24th.
Christmas Story Day 12,
The Story of Silent Night by Dick Smolinski |
| The
Story of Silent Night Father Joseph Mohr sat at the old organ. His fingers stretched over the keys, forming the notes of a chord. He took a deep breath and pressed down. Nothing. He lifted his fingers and tried again. Silence echoed through the church. Father Joseph shook his head. It was no use. The pipes were rusted, the bellows mildewed. The organ had been wheezing and growing quieter for months, and Father Joseph had been hoping it would hold together until the organ builder arrived to repair it in the spring. But now, on December 23, 1818, the organ had finally given out. St. Nicholas Church would have no music for Christmas. Father Joseph sighed. Maybe a brisk walk would make him feel better. He pulled on his overcoat and stepped out into the night. His white breath puffed out before him. Moonlight sparkled off the snow-crusted trees and houses in the village of Oberndorf. Father Joseph crunched through the snowy streets to the edge of the little Austrian town and climbed the path leading up the mountain. From high above Oberndorf, Father Joseph watched the Salzach River ripple past St. Nicholas Church. In the spring, when melting snow flowed down the mountains and the river swelled in its banks, water lapped at the foundation of the church. It was moisture from the flooding river that had caused the organ to mildew and rust. Father Joseph looked out over the Austrian Alps. Stars shone above in the still and silent night. Silent night? Father Joseph stopped. Of course! "Silent Night!" He had written a poem a few years before, when he had first become a priest, and he had given it that very title. "Silent Night." Father Joseph scrambled down the mountain. Suddenly he knew how to bring music to the church. The next morning, Father Joseph set out on another walk. This time he carried his poem. And this time he knew exactly where he was going -- to see his friend Franz Gruber, the organist for St. Nicholas, who lived in the next village. Franz Gruber was surprised to see the priest so far from home on Christmas Eve, and even more surprised when Father Joseph handed him the poem. That night Father Joseph and Franz Gruber stood at the altar of St. Nicholas Church. Father Joseph held his guitar. He could see members of the congregation giving each other puzzled looks. They had never heard a guitar played in church before, and certainly not during midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the holiest night of the year. Father Joseph picked out a few notes on the guitar, and he and Franz Gruber began to sing. Their two voices rang out, joined by the church choir on the chorus. Franz Gruber's melody matched the simplicity and honesty of Father Joseph's words. When the last notes faded into the night, the congregation remained still for a moment, then began to clap their hands. Applause filled the church. The villagers of Oberndorf loved the song! Father Joseph's plan to bring music to St. Nicholas Church had worked. A few months later, the organ builder arrived in Oberndorf and found the words and music to "Silent Night" lying on the organ. The song enchanted him, and when he left, he took a copy of it with him. The organ builder gave the song to two families of traveling singers who lived near his home. The traveling singers performed "Silent Night" in concerts all over Europe, and soon the song spread throughout the world. Today, cathedral choirs and carolers from New York to New Zealand sing the simple song that was first played in a mountain church in Austria on Christmas Eve nearly 200 years ago. |
Thank you so
very much, Tammy!
|
BONUS CHRISTMAS
CRAFT: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/howtomakperb.html - How to Make a Bow
|
BONUS
CHRISTMAS RECIPES:
This is one of my paternal grandmother's recipes.
|
Sudie's Brown Sugar
Drops |
|||
| 1
egg, well beaten 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose flour |
1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1-1/2 cup medium fine chopped walnuts |
||
|
Stir together beaten egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir in flour, soda, and salt. Add walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 - 9 minutes, or just until cookies start to brown at the edge. Do not overbake. Remove immediately to cooling rack. Make about 4 dozen.
- Ursula Tuck Buckley, Richmond, VA |
|||
|
From www.ajokeaday.com - 12/13/16:
| Everyone's heard of Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer as the ninth reindeer, but many people don't know that there is
a tenth one whose name was Olive. "Olive the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names..." |
| DATES TO REMEMBER: |
|
|
PRAYER ROLL: http://www.nnhs65.com/requests-prayers.html - updated 12/12/16 |
BLOG: http://nnhs.wordpress.com/ - updated 03/13/11 |
|
Y'all take good care of each other! TYPHOONS FOREVER! We'll Always Have Buckroe! Love to all, Carol |
==============================================
NNHS CLASS OF '65 WEB SITE:
http://www.nnhs65.com
PERSONAL WEB SITE:
http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/cluckmeat
==============================================
|
Carol Buckley Harty 7020 Lure Court Fayetteville, NC 28311-9309 910-584-8802 "Never underestimate |
|
THREE WAYS TO DONATE: 1. Visit the main page (http://www.nnhs65.com), scroll halfway down, and click on the Pay Pal Donate Button (nnhs65@gmail.com); 2. Go to www.PayPal.com, log in, select "Send Money (Services) to nnhs65@gmail.com; or
3.
Just mail it directly to my home. Thanks!
|
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Words and Music by Meredith Willson, 1951 (18 May 1902 - 15 June 1984)
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Ev'rywhere you go; Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again With candy canes and silver lanes aglow. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Toys in ev'ry store, But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be On your own front door. A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots Is the wish of Barney and Ben; Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk Is the hope of Janice and Jen; And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Ev'rywhere you go; There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well, The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; Soon the bells will start, And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing Right within your heart.
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" midi
courtesy of
http://www.christiananswers.net/midimenu.html - 11/26/05
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" lyrics courtesy of
http://www.always-safe.com/look.html - 12/06/05
Wreath clip art courtesy of http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis/Christmas/looklike.html
- 12/06/05
Candy Cane Divider Line clip art courtesy of
http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/christ-htm/lines-christ4.htm -
12/06/05
Bird House by the Snowy Fence Divider Line clip art courtesy of
http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/christ-htm/lines-christ23.htm
- 12/06/05
Animated Tiny
Birthday Cake clip art courtesy of Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 08/31/05
Thanks, Sarah Sugah!
Coast Guard Seal clip art courtesy of http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/SealsEmblems/USCG.htm - 10/03/07
Navy Seal clip art courtesy of http://www.onemileup.com/miniSeals.asp - 05/29/06
Bright Idea clip art (designed by Heather) courtesy of http://www.clker.com/clipart-brightidea-2.html - 10/30/12
John Marshall High School's Justice Scale clip art courtesy of
Cheryl White Wilson (JMHS - '64) of VA - 10/13/05 (replaced 02/23/09)
Thanks, Cheryl!
Animated Dancing Teddy courtesy of Sandi Bateman Chestnut ('65) of VA - 03/08/11
Thanks, Sandi!
Animated Ringing Christmas Bell clip art (designed by Art Holden) courtesy of http://www.animationfactory.com - 12/08/05
Animated BOO-HOO
courtesy of Glenn Dye ('60) of TX - 08/28/09
Thanks, Glenn!
Jeffrey Holman's Image "A Drop in the Bucket" courtesy of https://tearsfromalonelygod.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/a-drop-in-the-bucket/ - 05/23/16
