MERRY CHRISTMAS

Larry, you are correct-we received a gift. Our task now is to use it wisely, regroup, reorganize, and carry on. Churchill (a hero of both my first and second childhoods) said it best on Christmas Eve, 1941.

This is a strange Christmas Eve. Almost the whole world is locked in deadly struggle, and, with the most terrible weapons which science can devise, the nations advance upon each other. Ill would it be for us this Christmastide if we were not sure that no greed for the land or wealth of any other people, no vulgar ambition, no morbid lust for material gain at the expense of others, had led us to the field. Here, in the midst of war, raging and roaring over all the lands and seas, creeping nearer to our hearts and homes, here, amid all the tumult, we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each cottage home and in every generous heart. Therefore we may cast aside for this night at least the cares and dangers which beset us, and make for the children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. Here, then, for one night only, each home throughout the English-speaking world should be a brightly-lighted island of happiness and peace.

Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world.

And so, in God's mercy, a happy Christmas to you all. 

 So, in that spirit, Merry Christmas to all my friends here at 2A, and thanks to you all for your many kindnesses over the year.  I'm sure I'm not going to get an argument from anyone (other than Hacker...) that once again, Gary deserves special thanks for being the glue that holds this site together !