agz@pucc-k (Andrew Banta) (12/20/84)
[I don't reaaly care if you don't read this before Christmas]
Well, as I'm sure you've all noticed, it's that time of the year again.
I try to never call it "that time of the year" until it is actually less
than a week before that day of the year, just for my own reasons. So, I
ask you, what does "that time of the year" make you think of?
Does it make you think of the birth of Christ, at least
representatively? Does it make you think of what you can do for other
people at this time of the year, and for the upcoming new year? Is it a
meditative time of the year for you? Or does it simply bring visions of
crowded stores, full of people trying to find trinkets for their friends
and realtives? Or the end result of all this buying, when you give and
receive these trinkets?
While these may be partial reasons, I feel that for most of you, the
main attraction at this time of the year is the oppurtunity to be with
friends and family that you haven't seen since possibly last year. A
time when you don't have to work for a little while. Quite simply, a
time to enjoy other people and your surroundings.
I know for myself that Christmas brings back many old memories. Of spending
a week or ten days on a snowy mountain overlooking Lake Champlain. Of
being with twenty or so realtives for that time, all happily talking and
laughing. Many other things come to mind to, like rides on snowmobiles
and horse-drawn buck-boards. Like three restless kids in the back seat
of a Beetle on the Northway whining "How much further?" Like "helping"
carry firewood for a fire that burned for the entire length of the stay.
One thing, once I thought about it, that never really came to mind was
the giving and receiving of presents. It happened, but it isn't really
something that stuck in my mind as a highlight of the season.
While I'm sure, at the time, the presents were important to me, I can
now look back and see that they weren't what made the Christmas season
so great. And I can't, for the life of me figure out what it was, other
than the entire collection of circumstances and people gathered together
and having a great time.
I just wanted to say all this, so I could emphasize that it isn't the
gift giving that makes the season. It is the season itself, in
conjunction with who you are with and what you're doing. The way to
make this season memorable is not to have a great Christmas day, then
slide into a depression for the rest of the time. The way to make it
memorable is to have a great tiem with the people you're with the entire
time. And on top of that, do some things that are memorable. They
don't have to be extravagant. I'm sure, with a little thought, you
could all come up with something you could do for your family and
friends that would make them look back in the years ahead and say "That
was a great Christmas!"
Hey everybody, have a great Christmas or Hanukah, and if you don't
celebrate either of these, at least celebrate being with others and
having a fun time. I'll be back and talking to you in 1985 and
hopefully for some time to come.
Enjoy!
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Andy Banta {decvax!allegra!ihnp4}!pur-ee!pucc-k!agz
Dept. of Mental Instability, Purdue University --- "I'm OK, You're a CS Major"
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"Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear ... "