Dec. 25th, 2003

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``Spirit!'' he cried, tight clutching at its robe, ``hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?''

For the first time the hand appeared to shake.

``Good Spirit,'' he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it: ``Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!''

The kind hand trembled.

``I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!''

In his agony, he caught the spectral hand. It sought to free itself, but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. The Spirit, stronger yet, repulsed him.

Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost.

and the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the time before him was his own, to make amends in!

``I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!'' Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. ``The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob; on my knees!''

He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call. He had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the Spirit, and his face was wet with tears.

``They are not torn down,'' cried Scrooge, folding one of his bed-curtains in his arms, ``they are not torn down, rings and all. They are here: I am here: the shadows of the things that would have been, may be dispelled. They will be. I know they will!''

His hands were busy with his garments all this time: turning them inside out, putting them on upside down, tearing them, mislaying them, making them parties to every kind of extravagance.

``I don't know what to do!'' cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoön of himself with his stockings. ``I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!''

He had frisked into the sitting-room, and was now standing there: perfectly winded.

``There's the saucepan that the gruel was in!'' cried Scrooge, starting off again, and going round the fire-place. ``There's the door, by which the Ghost of Jacob Marley entered! There's the corner where the Ghost of Christmas Present, sat! There's the window where I saw the wandering Spirits! It's all right, it's all true, it all happened. Ha ha ha!''

Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years, it was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long, long line of briliant laughs!

God bless us, every one.
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from the Arizona Republic
Does anybody except the Palm Beach County prosecutor give a rat's patoot whether Rush Limbaugh went "doctor hunting" for drugs? I can't figure out how society is better served or protected by looking into this matter.

I could understand the prosecutor's zeal if some person or persons were harmed by Rush's action. However, as near as I can tell, Rush hurt only himself, has taken the necessary steps to ameliorate his addiction problem and there appear to be no victims.

Yes, yes . . . I know. "Broke the law." "Nation of laws." All that grand stuff.

So what? Surely there are more important things for the prosecutor to do than drag a loudmouth, middle-aged radio personality to court. (As a matter of fact, I'm already more than a bit concerned because last week I spit on the sidewalk, and I'm afraid of that knock at my door).

Perhaps it is time for the taxpayers of Palm Beach County to tell their prosecutor to stop wasting their money and his time. - William P. Stollar, Surprise

Just think of all the hysterical conservative outrage we could have avoided if Monica had just spit...

swag watch

Dec. 25th, 2003 11:05 pm
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nice Christmas. Finding Nemo with eight year olds, lots of food, a reasonably clean house and enough presents for everyone.

A coo and a few comforting pats go out to the loquacious pup, get of the Talking Dog and the gracious Mrs. TD, who has a bad cough and had to miss multiple family gatherings at an age when missing multiple family gatherings is not a mercy yet.

Best Xmas moment: the nice indian lady at the magazine stand at Grand Central apparently saw my day written in my face last night while I was on my way to mass and gave me a free advil as a surprise christmas present.

Boy, do I have work to do christmas moment: they opened up the choir loft to fit the overflow crowd, and we got to sit next to a pair of teenagers who were a little peevish because they had to be at mass and (my very favorite thing ever) snickering.

So I'm looking at this young woman in her best Strawberries finery and platform patent leather sneakers, and I'm smiling in a dowdy, middle-aged and inoffensive way, and I'm thinking "So what are you, the ghost of christmas four years ago?"

referring to her outfit and I'm not a nice person, I think.

Enjoy the waning hours of seasonal observance, those of you with less weight of snark upon your souls.

and to all a good night.

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