Saying Grace

Some of my favorites, gentle but with a touch of cynicism:

May we cherish the bread before there is none,
discover each other before we leave,
and enjoy each other for what we are
while we have time.
~Richard Wong~

The Feast at Dave and Marion's

You say grace before meals. All right.
But I say grace before the concert and the opera,
and grace before the play and pantomime,

and grace before I open a book,
and grace before sketching, painting, swimming,
fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing
and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
~G. K. Chesterton~

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"Heavenly Father," I say, when it is my turn,
"deliver us all from evil, the living, the dead,
and everyone in between."
~Julia Scheeres~
(from her memoir, Jesus Land, 219)

Ode to Christmas

"Nearly all the best and most precious things in the universe you can get for a halfpenny. I make an exception, of course, of the sun, the moon, the earth, people, stars, thunderstorms, and such trifles. You can get them for nothing. Also I make an exception of another thing: The Spirit of Christmas!"

from "The Shop of Ghosts" (1909)
a Christmas story by G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936),
one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century

Lots of Beautiful Pastel Decorations from MARIETTA

As my friend Marv once said in one of the best odes to Christmas that I've ever read anywhere:

"Still, as always, I look forward to anything 'Christmas,' be it sacred or profane.

"Quite frankly, I love it all: commercial or spiritual, mall or church, crass or sublime, jaded or sentimental, slow or frantic, sad or comic, regretful or nostalgic, adult or childish, wrapping up or ripping open, giving or spartan, on-line or in line, pine or palm, white or tropical green, it just does not matter; it's all moving and wonderful, magical and grand (and I wish it lasted all year)."

Marv is also the one who introduced me to the concept of "Christmas Amnesty":

You can fall out of contact with friends, fail to return calls, ignore e-mails, avoid eye contact at the store, forget birthdays, anniversaries and reunions, and if you write during the holidays, they are socially bound to forgive you and act like nothing happened. Decorum dictates that the friendship move forward from that point, without guilt or recrimination. . . . Just say, "Sorry I haven't written. Merry Christmas."

. . . Amnesty protocol demands that your friend / relative say, "That's okay" and move on without comment. This is the way it has always been done. (see Chapter 8: "Holiday Heartbreak," 108 - 09)

from The Stupidist Angel:
A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror
a novel by Christopher Moore (b 1957, Ohio),
contemporary American writer of absurdist fiction
and comic fantasy

MARV AS SANTA!
"I understand it now,"
Mr. Dickens cried,
"Father Christmas
will never die"
("Shop of Ghosts,"
Chesterton).