Merry Christmas everyone! Lest I offend, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Ramadan, Fruitful Kwanza, and/or whatever else rows your boat. Personally, as long as you’re being kind to others and lending each other a hand trying to lift each other up, I don’t think the “Big guy” cares what you choose to call it. If you’re self-centered, and care not for the burdens those around you bear, I don’t think he cares what you call it either. Actions still speak louder than words even in the “words polluted” 21st Century.

A first grade teacher was recently reading the Chicken Little story to her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little tried to warn the farmer; “So Chicken Little ran to the farmer saying “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” Pausing, the teacher asked the class “And what do you think the farmer said?” One little 7 year old girl raised her hand and said, “I think he said: ‘Holy $#%&, a talking chicken!’” Moral? They don’t learn just in class, folks, little pitchers have big ears, and all that. But come on, that’s funny. Any other teacher stories, especially local true ones, please pass them along to me at dconyngham@easternpenn.com and I’ll try my best to get them in a chatterbox.

Local Weather-lore; “When storm does blow, face rain or snow, point to the wind two hours ago. If left hand raised it will get better, right hand means it will get wetter.” I was positive this ditty was an old wives tale. “Not so” says my contact in meteorology. If the wind is moving clockwise (from left to right) the wind is “veering” and it will probably clear. Counterclockwise (moving right to left) the wind is “backing” and it will storm a while yet. The old timers really had much closer contact with the outdoors, and knew a lot better than we do what Mother Nature intended next. We must watch Joe Snedeker juggle heads to see what’s coming.

Not all old weather sayings are true though. There is no truth that “moonlight spoils fish and meat”. They suspect this was just how the old time wives got their men-folk to finish dressing their catches the same day caught. And that hasn’t changed one bit. After all these years, wives are still motivating their husbands chores; the dreaded “honey do” lists.

Bless their hearts, what would we do without them? Does anyone in Washington or Mega-Corporate America even remember what “personal responsibility” means? The “bail out” tap is now wide open, and they are lining up to siphon not only our tax dollars, but our kid’s and even grandkid’s. What’s really wrong with Detroit? Watch the 30 second ad with the driver raving about his 8 passenger Cadillac Escalade. He averages 12 MPG city, and he’s driving in it alone. Only someone high on an illegal drug would think the American consumer wants a 12 MPG gas hog that holds 8 to cruise around in it solo today. What is wrong with Detroit? They have completely lost touch with their customers. So this idiocy needs to be rewarded? In our world, if you really goof up, the cards fall where they must. Now suddenly these “bubble baby” Banks and Mega-Corps can really blow it and get rewarded for it? That borders on socialist control. All I can say is if you call in the government for help, Katy bar the door. Be careful what you ask for, you just may get a dose of medicine you’ll never recover from.

“Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus…” In 1897, 112 years ago this month young Virginia O’Hanlon wrote the New York Sun the following letter; “Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?(Virginia O'Hanlon).

Did Francis Chruch feel how important the weight of his answer was back then? Still is today? Space prevents printing his entire response in full, but here is the solid core; "We take pleasure in answering this friend of the Sun. Virginia, your friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, nor poetry, nor romance to make tolerable this existence. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might get your papa to have men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? That nobody sees Santa Claus? That still is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. Ah, Virginia, in all this work there is nothing else more real and abiding. Thank God he lives in men's hearts and good will this time of the year. A thousand years from now, Virginia, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

Little is left my generation us of our childhood, but yes, that Christmas spirit still echoes inside our inner child. May God Bless you all this Christmas.

The monthly chatter box is written by Donald Conyngham

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