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Show What's your favorite Christmas story? Whats your favorite Christmas story? Perhaps it's The Gift of the Magi that touching story by O. Henry about a young couple who are poor in material things, but rich in love. Youngsters might voje for the Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, about the poor little girl taken up to heaven on New Years Day, or his other tale, The Little Fir Tree. Christmas, that season which inspires us with good will for one another, has also been the source of inspiration for writers everywhere. Anatole Frances The Juggler of Notre Dame is a favorite of many who love the story of the performer offering the only thing he had to give - his talent for juggling. Leo Tolstoys Where Love is. There God is Also, a story about a humble cobbler who unknowingly has Christ as his guest, makes inspiring reading at Christmas time. And Louisa May Alcotts beloved Little Women contains a heartwarming account of the Christmas spent by Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy during the time of the Civil War. In more recent time, readers have eajgyed Dylan exploring the season from a different perspective. But perhaps no author exemplifies the spirit of Christmas so well as Charles Dickens. When he wrote, A Christmas Carol in Prose, in 1843, he created an unforgettable cast of characters that would forever after symbolize Christmas for us: Scrooge, with his miserly ways, and cynicism about the holidays; Bob Cratchit, the faithful clerk;, and Tiny Tim, a brave little fellow. Dickens story paints a colorful picture of the Christmas of Victorian times, one that has enriched our own experience immeasurably. Of the poems inspired by the and there are holiday season many perhaps none is as popular in this country as Clement C Moores account of A Visit from St. Nicholas. This charming description of Santa as a jolly old elf, is likely responsible for our present day conception of Santa Claus. - Caroling, Caroling, Caroling These young people were among those that enter- tained during the annual Christmas party of the Gunni- - son Businessmen's Assoication. enjoy the evening of fun and folic. Many turned out to ThomsChrist- - mas in Wales and Truman Capotes A Christmas Memory, each Traditions Days are getting shorter. Twilight comes early. Winters chill is in the air. Everything is adorned in holiday finery, and shoppers return home, day after day, laden with mysterious packages. The tantalizing aroma of home baked cakes and cookies fills the air. Indeed, the traditions of Christmas are as many and varied as they can be. Each family has its own traditional way of greeting the season, and these traditions are often the most treasured. While one family trims its tree with heirloom ornaments brought from Europe generations ago, another brings memories to life with homemade ornaments saved from year to year. In one family, it wouldnt be . Christmas without Grandmas buttery spritz cookies; another schedules an afternoon of baking to be enjoyed together. Some families trek out in the woods to cut that special tree, while others keep a living tree indoors during the holiday season then plant it after all the Christmas decorations have been taken down. Some dry the branches and trucks of their cut tree, saving them to throw on the fire the following Christmas. Some families organize skating parties each Christmas; others have evenings of caroling, culminating around a steamy bowl of wassail. Others visit family and friends, while others take joy in staying home with those dearest and closest to them. Americans pay $20,000 per prisoner Americas Crime rate? Its been stated that in Pennsyl- vania it costs seven times as much to maintain someone in the state pen than it does to maintain someone at Penn State. State Legislators at a recent national conference gave three reasons why its tough to find money for education and the competition of prison spending is one of them. The relationship between crime and lack of education is very strong, according to Harold Hodgkison, of the Center for Demographic Policy in the Institute of Educational Leadership. He notes that more than 80 of Americas 1.1 million prisoners are high school dropouts. Each prisoner costs taxpayers upwards of $20,000 a year. Taxpayers spend more by far on a prison that on any other kind of tax supported individual, he noted. What we need to do is work on Americans crime rates, and the best policy for doing so is to make sure that every American child graduates from high school. If its going to happen, educators and the rest of society will have to banish the effects of poverty; parental alienation from schools and kids; homelessness; drug abuse; ill health among students; child abuse; and many other foes. Festive hidings t all Iip Friends The elves are packing the sleigh. The route is mapped. The reindeer are waiting in the wings. Soon the most stellar event of the year begins, bringing joy and harmony to homes around the world. Our best wishes to all for a warm and wonderful Christmas. From the Employees of Southern Utah Fuel Company ' |