The Man and the Birds

 

The man I'm talking about was not a scrooge
No, he was a kind, a decent, a mostly good man
Generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men
But he just did not believe in all of that incarnation stuff
Which the churches proclaim at Christmas time
It just did not make sense and he was too honest
To pretend otherwise
He could not swallow the Jesus' story
About God coming to earth as a man
He told his wife, I'm truly sorry to distress you
But I'm just not going with you to church this Christmas Eve
He said he'd feel like a hypocrite
That he'd much rather just stay home
But that he would wait up for them
So, he stayed, and they went to the midnight service
Now, shortly after, the family drove away in the car
Snow began to fall
He went to the window to watch the flurries
Getting heavier and heavier
Then he went back to his fireside chair
Began to read his newspaper
Minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound
And then another, then yet another
At first, he thought somebody must be throwing snowballs
Against the living room window
But when he went to the front door to investigate
He found a flock of birds huddled out there miserably in the snow
They had been caught in the storm
In a desperate search for shelter
They have tried to fly through his large landscape window
That was what had been making the sound
Well, he couldn't let those poor creatures just lie there and freeze
So, he remembered the barn where his children stable their pony
That would provide a warm shelter
All he would have to do is direct the birds into that shelter
Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes
And he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn
And he opened the doors wide
And inside the barn, he turned on a light
So, the birds would know the way in
But the birds did not come in
So, he figured that food would entice them
He went back into the house and fetched some breadcrumbs
And sprinkled those on the snow
Making a trail of breadcrumbs
To the yellow lighted wide-open doorway of the stable
But to his dismay, the birds ignored the breadcrumbs
The birds just continued to flop around helplessly in the snow
He tried catching them
He could not
He tried shoeing them into the barn by walking around them
And waving his arms
But instead, they scattered in every direction
Every direction except into the warm lighted barn
And that's when he realized that they were afraid of him
They were afraid of him!
To him, he reasoned, I'm a strange, terrifying creature
If only I could think of some way to let 'em know
That they can trust me
That I'm not trying to hurt them, but to help them
But how?
Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them
They just would not follow
They would not be led or shooed because they feared him
And he thought to himself, if only I could be a bird now
I could be a bird and mingle with them
And speak their language and tell them not to be afraid
Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn
But I would have to be one of them, wouldn't I?
So, they could see
And hear and understand
At that moment, the church bells began to ring
The sound reached his ears
Above the sounds of the wind
And he stood there listening to the bell Adeste Fidelis
Listening to the bells
Feeling the glad tidings of Christmas
And he sank to his knees in the snow
I hope for you and those you love
This will be a wonderfully merry Christmas

Good Morning Everyone!!

Well it is the day before Christmas I hope you have all your shopping done and your plans are in order.

Above is a Christmas parable told by Paul Harvey every Christmas on his radio broadcast. I grew up listening to him on the radio and for a good part of my adult life. For those who are not familiar with him he was a much beloved broadcaster famous for his new broadcasts and his "Rest of the Story" program on Saturdays. His voice was instantly recognized by million spanning multiple decades.

If you are every bored with some free time I can't recommend enough to look up some of his popular broadcast on Youtube. You will not be disappointed.

I am thinking we can do a Music thing. Post your most favorite Christmas Songs and Carols or just discuss what you want. As always the comment section is an open chat.

I don't know how busy I will be tomorrow I will try to get another OP out but if not have a Very Merry Christmas!

Below is a reading of the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) by Clement Clarke Moore read by Lorne Greene best known for his roles as Ben Cartwright (Bonanza) & Commander Adama (Battlestar Galactica):

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,

Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the housetop the coursers they flew

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”