Thursday, December 13, 2007

 

The Dickens you say!


Finally, just now, today, I feel like Christmastime's a comin'! Last night and this morning, I had time to wrap some presents. Dr. ER is in Kansas, heading home until early January.

And I'm reading "A Christmas Carol" (searchable!), which has been an annual Christmassy thing for me for years now.


Here are my two favorite passages:


From Stave 1, Marley's Ghost:

The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.


From Stave 2, The First of the Spirits:

The curtains of his bed were drawn aside, I tell you, by a hand. Not the curtains at his feet, nor the curtains at his back, but those to which his face was addressed. The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent attitude, found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them: as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow.

(That last one can give you chills if reading alone in the middle of the night!)


What about y'all? Is it Christmastime for you yet? Is there something you do every year as part of it? Do tell!

--ER

# by Erudite Redneck @ 4:32 PM. CLICK COMMENTS TO GIVE YOUR OPINION>
Comments:
I LOVE Christmas Carol. Dickens nailed that one.

Yes, it's Christmas time for me, to be sure.

Unfortunately, it's way too busy, but still Christmasy feeling - we got our tree up last weekend and hopefully will have it decorated by this weekend.

Going out with our friends to hunt down that perfect Christmas tree is part of what signals the season for me.
# posted by Blogger Dan Trabue : 7:06 PM
 
Yup, it's Christmas here. We also went out and euthanized a tree last weekend, and spend the day putting it up, while listening to Christmas carols. The cats are currently sitting under it, keeping warm, which should tell you just how many lights we put on the poor thing.

We have several other traditions, but my favorite is coming home after the Christmas Eve service at church, sipping a nice port, eating home-made chocolate truffles (whenever possible, marry a man who can cook, I always say) and watching "Scrooge" on DVD (it's a little known 1970's musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Albert Finney ... definitely worth the rental if you can find it!)
# posted by Blogger Alan : 7:29 PM
 
I have a special edition, with a facsimile of the original, hand-written manuscript. I am reading it a bit at a time to my girls at bedtime.

After Christmas Eve service, we sit, and I read Luke 2 from a King James Bible, then we each open one present, and the girls go to bed. Lisa has a late service, and so I stay home, listening to some Christmas music, and wait for her.
# posted by Blogger Geoffrey Kruse-Safford : 8:47 PM
 
I envy y'all and your Christmas Eve services. This year, I'll be at the in-laws' in Texas, where the only service I might could attend (with any family, I mean) would be a midnight mass. I'll pass rather than be an observer at Communion.

"You'll have to take that up with a higher authority than me," Dr. ER said of my complaint of the Catholic closed Communion table.

Naah. I'll just pass.
# posted by Blogger Erudite Redneck : 10:58 PM
 
ER,
Please head back to Neil's blog. I wrote something while you were responding and it came in after you left. My attitude sucked and I owed you an apology. I think the message was right, but I was... well, a bitch about it. Can I say that? Sorry if it offends, but I think that's probably pretty close to the truth. I hate that when I have something really important to say, and it means a lot, that my pride screws it all up. The stuff about Christ and Christianity I am convicted is right. But I am also convicted that how I said it was sinful.
It is really late here,the internet is acting up, but I felt the matter needed to be addressed.
Elisa
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 12:51 AM
 
ER,
I apologize to you for reveling your true name last summer. That was wrong. Please forgive me.

I apologize for handing you over to Satan, as you pointed out, as if I had that kind of authority. I was angry and spoke when I should not have. It was wrong, please forgive me.

I apologize for the hatred that I have harbored in my heart towards you. That was wrong. Please forgive me.

I apologize for being a back biter towards you, that was wrong. Please forgive me.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else to apologize to you for. Please forgive me.
Sincerely,
Timothy
# posted by Blogger Timothy : 10:06 AM
 
AS for the posts I had on you, for some reason, I took them down last week before this latest round began. I would greatly appreciate it if you would take down the posts on me, although you are under no obligation to do so.
Blessings
# posted by Blogger Timothy : 10:14 AM
 
Timothy, you just stopped a war. I accept your apologies. Thank you. And I apologize for my own role in egging this on. I'm sorry we used to be friends but now we're not. In the by-and-by, we will be again. Maybe before that. Maybe not. In the meantime: Peace.
# posted by Blogger Erudite Redneck : 10:18 AM
 
If anyone is interested, the that led to this minor miracle of a step toward reconcilation is here:

http://4simpsons.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/the-telephone-game-and-the-new-testament/#comments
# posted by Blogger Erudite Redneck : 10:19 AM
 
Taking down the posts will be symbolic only. They are archived on the web as long as there will be one. Think of the web as the new memory of the earth. So long as there is a web everthing ever on it is somewhere on it now. Somthing new has been born. I wonder what it will grow up to be.
# posted by Blogger drlobojo : 4:09 PM
 
Yes, DrLobojo, I know. But the point of taing th posts down is that *I* took 'em down, and *Tim* took 'em down. They're down to me, and to him.
# posted by Blogger Erudite Redneck : 9:07 PM
 
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