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Author Archives: Jeff Whittle
Christmas is over
Christmas is over….at least around here. All the presents are unwrapped and ribbons and other junk are packed away in the trash bag. Growing up I’ve found that it doesn’t matter what you get for Christmas, because someone you know got something better that what you got. So be happy for what you’ve got.
The last time I truly remember believing in Santa Claus was when I was in 5th grade. During those early years, usually on Christmas Eve I couldn’t sleep at all with the anticipation of Santa. I’d get up at 5AM to see what Santa got me. At my house Santa was too lazy to wrap anything, so the presents were stacked up in front of the tree. There were 2 piles…one for my sister and the other for myself. When I was younger, it was all toys….except for gifts from my great-grandmother. She always got me practical gifts because she felt we had too many toys….which we probably did. I remember one time getting an alarm clock from her.
We don’t get together with extended family much anymore. This childhood tradition soon stopped after my grandparents died. Sometimes I feel like we only got together for Christmas in order to please both sets of grandparents. At times Christmas can seem empty, yet it is a relaxing time since I don’t do any traveling. Nowadays we usually get together with our neighbors’ on Christmas Eve night for sandwiches. Then they come over to our house for breakfast on Christmas morning.
There are some people out there who truly believe that Christ was born on December 25, 0000. ‘Tis a sad circumstance when someone is ignorant and doesn’t read their Bible. Since the Bible doesn’t say when Christ was born, it would be wrong to try to pin His birth on a particular day. In that sense one would be going beyond what the Bible had written. However if Christmas helps people remember Christ on a particular day, then it probably does more good than harm, in a religious sense. I just wish more people would get serious about their religion. For these people who aren’t serious about their religion, I call them “Chreasters” – people who come to church only on Christmas and Easter.
I spent Christmas Eve night at Roy’s house putting pictures on his webpage. Some of them are quite humorous.
Christmas is 2 days away.
Christmas is 2 days away. It sure doesn’t feel like it. The weather has been very mild. A few days ago it did get a little cool at night. But otherwise it has been uncharacteristically nice.
On a related note, it looks like Paoli Peaks ski area might be open on December 26 or 27. I know they must be loosing alot of money, not being able to open on Christmas Day. If they are open, there probably will only have one hill with any type of snow on it.
I cleaned out my closet yesterday. I’ve thrown away alot of junk from college, but I’m still keeping alot of it. Among the stuff I found was a Crystal Pepsi Bottle.
I’ve placed some photoshopped pictures on the web. Alot of the pictures are of my friends and acquaintances. They probably won’t seem as funny to you unless you know the person.
The Happiest Potties on Earth….compiled
The Happiest Potties on Earth….compiled by someone with too much time on their hands. Yes, there are some people who go to Disneyland and visit every bathroom in order to rate them.
One things that really annoys me
One things that really annoys me….happens at church alot. After services when everyone is “fellowshipping,” I usually find myself in conversation with another person. While in conversation someone always comes up and butts in and starts a totally different conversation with the other person. It never fails. Anytime when I am talking to someone, another person comes up and hogs their time with them. I am patient with people. If someone is in conversation with another person, I try to wait until it comes to a stopping point before trying to start a new conversation.
My theory in why this happens is because church people are generally rude in nature. Rude and nosey. If you are single they want to know why you are and want to set you up on a date. Also I think that some people tend to use church primarily as a place to get business contacts. Some people come to church because it looks good politically and socially. They may come for the one hour a week on Sunday mornings, but they never do anything extra. A church could have 600 people who attend there on any given Sunday morning, but only have 100 or so that actually do any work.
Don’t get me wrong. I have met alot of genuine people from church. Mostly it is at extra-church activities outside of regular worship services….such as retreats and camps. It is ironic that you’re more likely to find people who are serious about their religion outside of Sunday morning worship. Certainly it is unfair to try to classify ALL of the people who come just on Sunday mornings as being lax in their religious habits. I realize that some people just can’t devote all of their time to church and can only come on Sunday mornings.
I have gotten my Christmas shopping done. And I didn’t have to visit the mall. From what I understand the mall traffic was terrible today. I was able to find my gifts at stores nearby.
The Condiment Packet Museum…..yes, someone
The Condiment Packet Museum…..yes, someone has scanned those ketchup packets and put them on the net. That’s it. You now can find ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on the net.
Indiana’s Snow Watch
The snow watch is on in Indiana…..but there aint no snow. According to the Ski Peaks webpage the current conditions are bad:
CURRENT Snow Report at Paoli Peaks
Anticipated OPENING DATE: December 24 – 27, 2001
Operating Hours: ~Cold weather is very slow in arriving, but the good news is that it will be cold once it’s here right around christmas. We’ll see you on the slopes soon.
Snow Base: ~
Snow Surface: ~
Trails Open: ~
Lifts Operating: ~
This is doublespeak for there aint no snow, and don’t hold your breath for more snow. We (the church group) are tentatively scheduling our ski trip on Jan. 11-13….only 3 weeks away. Definitely not a long enough time for a good base.
I hate Paoli. It is one of those places that is good to learn to ski at, but really is too small for the intermediate skier. Our group organizers absolutely refuse to even consider North Carolina as an alternate destination. Paoli is such a hit and miss for snow. You have to time it just right for snow, or else you could be miserable with 50 degrees and rain.
Great Mobile Homes of Mississippi….the
Great Mobile Homes of Mississippi….the scary thing is that some of the trailers are eerily familiar.
The Christmas Card Count
The Christmas Card Count is as follows:
- Total Number of Christmas Cards I sent out (so far): 42
- Total Number of Christmas Cards received (so far): 9
- Number of Christmas Cards I received before sending them one (thereby making me feel guilty about not sending them one and sending one anyway): 2
- Number of Christmas Cards that Contained a Picture: 1
- Number of Humorous Christmas Cards: 3
- Number of Religious Christmas Cards: 2
Come on people! Time’s a wastin’. Get those cards in the mail!!!! You know the address. We all know about how slow the mail service is anyways, so don’t worry if it is in the mail.
On another note, I did some digging around and found the first email message I ever received. I vagely remember the circumstances. Basically it was the first week at school at Lipscomb and I had dinner with a girl in the cafeteria. Afterwards she decided to send me a email message. I had almost forgotten about her by the time I read it (late September).
Christmas Cards for a Dying Girl? Sounds like an Urban Legend
“Stop logging our national forests”…..was what was written on a bumper sticker on a car I saw this weekend. What was significant about this was that the car was carrying a live freshly cut Christmas tree. When I first encountered the car it was pulling out of a recreational lake area near my house. I speculated that perhaps they had cut down the tree at the recreational area. Go figure….
It was announced at church this week that a little girl who is deathly ill is requesting everyone to send her Christmas cards. This request was verified to be true by calling the postmaster of the town in which the girl lives at. While on the surface it may seem like a good idea to try to grant this little girl’s wish. However it is opening up a Pandora’s box. It was relayed to me that the girl is already receiving thousands of Christmas cards…way too many that she and the family could possibly read. I’ve seen this card request scenario before….last time it happened with Craig Shergold and it wasn’t pretty at all.
Instead of asking for Christmas cards, why not ask people to take the money that would have been spent on the Christmas cards and donate it to the American Cancer Society or some other worthy charity?
Please do not take this as me being uncaring. I am very sympathetic to the great stress and pressure that the family is feeling right now. Just this past year I had a young friend of mine pass away due to a brain tumor. I just don’t want this request to become another Pandora’s box.