December 19, 2012: Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...

Last night we attended our sixth Christmas concert. This one featured the Sixth Grade Louisa Middle School Band, The Seventh Grade Louisa Middle School Band and the Lawrence County High School Band (eighth grade through twelfth grades). The concert was standing room only and, even with this virus wearing me out, it was nice to stand against the back wall of the room and enjoy the beautiful music. The crowd was polite and appreciative and the Superintendent even joined in with a recitation during a rendition of “It was a Spooky Night Before Christmas.” I don’t care where you live, there is someone celebrating Christmas in your community, a local band, a local choir, a local acting troupe. Get out and get involved, if you don’t want to be part of the performance, be part of the audience. This does not need to even cost you a single penny, of the six concerts and one play that our family has attended, four of there were free, all they wanted was someone to perform for (and maybe to sell you some fruit, there are a few cases of tangelos left, call Miss Crittenden).

Today is our last day of school before Christmas break and the year is half over. It never ceases to amaze me how fast time travels, time travels, hey; we’re all time travellers. The only problem is that the time machine is stuck in drive and there is no reverse. Unfortunately it also appears that time travels down hill because it sure seems to pick up speed. Take this pledge with me, over the Christmas Season, I will apply the brakes on the time machine for at least one day and slow everything down for 24 hours. Sleep in, relax, have a comfort breakfast (you know what you love and it CAN include gravy or syrup), turn on some music and sip a hot cup of whatever relaxes you, I vote for Irish Breakfast Tea (I think it’s the adult ADD, the caffeine chills me out. I love Christmas and I want to drag out every second as long as possible.

You know, when we’re at Disney World, the best days are the days that we drag out, not real planned and just doing whatever catches our attention. I know that when you spend the cash to enjoy WDW, you want to get your money’s worth but what’s worth more, one more ride or a relaxing moment that you will never forget? You know my answer; I’m built for comfort, not for speed.

What do you say, let’s go to Walt Disney World? Need an excuse?

How about the story that, perhaps more than any other, tries to get us all to see the true spirit of Christmas, slow down and really appreciate life. On this date in 1838, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published and was an immediate hit. Disney had told no less than three version of the last story, the last starring Jim Carrey as several characters in a motion capture, 3D, animated version of the classic tale. At this time of year, all of WDW is decked out for the holiday season; don’t be a Scrooge, enjoy!

In 1925, Robert Sherman was born. Robert and his brother, Richard, wrote song after song after song for Walt Disney. In fact they wrote Walt’s favorite song, “Feed the Birds” from the movie Mary Poppins. Often, at the end of the day on Friday, Walt would call the Sherman Brothers into his office and just say, “Play it.” They knew what he meant and played the song that was so dear to Walt’s heart. What else did they write? How about: “Chim-Chim-Cheree,” “There’s a Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow,” “It’s a Small World,” and on and on. As much as it may pain our dear friend, Conductor Brittany, let me suggest that you Ride It’s a Small World or even better, The Carousel of Progress. “Ohhhh, there’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day…”

Remember, your best excuse is always: waiting for your dreams to come true.