Dear
Ones,
“Once
upon a time—of all the good days in the year on Christmas Eve—Old Scrooge sat
busy in his counting house.”
And
so it begins…this ever popular and uplifting Dickens story that is my favorite
Christmas book. I stack “The Christmas
Carol” beside my bed early in December and before the 25th I have it
finished…again. I never tire of reading
about the magical metamorphosis of the
tight-fisted, squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching old sinner
into a man who “it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas
well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”
About
10 years ago, I stumbled on a copy of this Dickens story at a used book
sale. The book is small (4x7 inches) and
worn and stained. It contains three of
his other works and some whimsical pen and ink sketches. Published by Books, Inc. New York, Boston, it
states on the inside cover that it is bound in the United States of America by
The Colonial Press Inc., Clinton, Mass.
I realize the book has no monetary value due to the deplorable shape it
is in, but no matter, I cherish all the
marks and as I turn the pages, I think
of all the readers before me who were caught up in the magic of Dicken’s prose.
I
save the ending to read on Christmas Eve for it lifts my heart. You
know that familiar scene when Scrooge opens his window on Christmas
morning and calls down to the a boy dressed in Sunday clothes. “What’s today?” Upon realizing that he hadn’t missed
Christmas, Scrooge whooped and hollered and was filled with merriment and joy
as he ordered a big fat bird for the Cratchit family.
To
all you dear gentle friends who read my blog-- at this special time of year I
send you warm wishes for the merriest of holidays. Like dear old Scrooge, may you open your
window Christmas morning on a sunny world filled with hope and joy and love.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
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