Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I am getting excited about my trip to see my brother and my sister-in-law and her family. Last year at this time the concern was the snowfall in Flagstaff. This year it is the cold and snow in Chicago. All the weather forecasters say that I will arrive in Chicago with snow; a high in the mid 20’s and lows in the teens. It is Chicago so the wind chill will be an important factor. It will be hard to go from the 60’s to those temperatures. It doesn’t look like a big snowstorm so planes should be doing OK for the holiday travel. I hope that Richard and Laura have good flights. Richard is coming from Miami, Laura from NYC. She is making a quick trip to NYC just before Christmas to tie up some loose ends. They will fly from Chicago to Mexico City for New Years. So we will all be hoping that we can fly out after Christmas. I just watched some news from Chicago and while the flying thing may be a hassle, the driving thing would probably be worse.
Two interesting studies have come out recently about our little town. Flagstaff is a hub for many rural communities. Duh…we all knew that. The new study looked at grocery store sales compared to population. Either Flag residents are buying way too much food or we have a lot of people from outside Flag that buy groceries year round. That is good news for our grocery prices. When I was staying in Winslow, AZ and Rushville, NE they had one grocery store. Prices were very high and selection was very limited. Here we have lots of chain stores, always in competition. That was the good news story. The second story was not so good, so of course made bigger headlines in Phoenix and nationwide: the use of substances that alter perception is high (pun intended). There is a new drug—Spice—that is legal and makes one high, followed by bad headaches. It is synthetic marijuana that doesn’t show up on current drug tests. Somehow it has been determined that juveniles at the jail are showing that they use Spice at one of the highest rates in the state. Another study showed that NAU is in 15th place for use of marijuana on college campuses. Somehow it is ironic that we have low grocery prices and high marijuana use. Gotta love Flagstaff.
HOLY MACKEREL: 1985 America’s winningest high school football coach called it quits this day. Gordon Wood, 71, of Brownwood High School in Central Texasretired after 43 years. Wood sported a career record of 405 wins, 88 losses and 12 ties
∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 SAINTS & SINNERS
►He expected a debate but didn't expect to start a new church when he posted his "95 Theses" in 1517
►Mark's gospel says this woman whom Jesus cured of seven demons was the first to see him resurrected
►St. Monica's son, who lived a dissolute youth as he admitted in his "Confessions"
►The king who had St. Thomas More put to death
►The king who had St. Thomas of Becket put to death
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION— "Peanuts"
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the longest-running cartoon special in history, airing every year since its debut in 1965.
►◄
The television movie was originally a short documentary produced in 1963 by Lee Mendelson about Charles Schulz called A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
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After the Peanuts made the cover of TIME magazine in 1965, an advertising agent for the Coca-Cola company, who had seen the Schulz documentary called Mendelson and asked if he had thought about creating a Peanuts Christmas special.
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM—FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.
Authorities say a North Carolina woman reported missing in September walked 200 miles before she turned up at a Virginia shelter.
The Fayetteville Observer reported that 56-year-old Wilma Edwards of Fayetteville turned up last week in Richmond, Va. Her information was found in a database of missing people, and she told authorities she had traveled to the shelter on foot.
Cumberland County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said Edwards is known by many as "Miss Betty" and frequently takes long walks around Fayetteville with a white bucket that she sits on when she gets tired.
Edwards had last been seen Sept. 19.
Tanna said Edwards did not have needed medications and did not use her bank account during her disappearance. Her family says she disappeared once before, turning up in New York.
A LITTLE LAUGH
A co-worker was telling us about her sister who was coming to visit her for the holidays. Someone asked how old her sister was, at which she paused, thought for a bit, and then answered, "She's half as old as I am, that's how I always remember."
So someone else (okay, it was me) said, "That's neat... So every year that you age, she only ages half a year?"
My co-worker thought about that, and then said, "Oh, yeah, I guess it only works on even years."
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
10-17: Human Rights Week
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
♦ TODAY IS… ♦
National Bouillabaisse Day: French fish stew from Marseille
Monkey Day: a festival of primates--a chance to scream like a monkey and throw feces at whomever you choose. Or perhaps just a reason to hang out with your friends while grunting and picking fleas off each other.
El Salvador: Revolution Day (since 1931)
Iran: Death of Iman Ja'far Sadeq (جعفر بن محمد الصادق) Day: revered by Sunni and Shi'a) in 765
Turkey: Festival of Mevlana-Jelaeddin Rumi (Whirling Dervishes)
US: Alabama: Admission Day (1819—22nd state)
♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
1958 "Gigi" — Gigi
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
1919 Shirley Jackson US, writer (Road Through the Wall)
1911 Spike Jones Long Beach CA, composer
1853 Salvador Diaz Miron Mexican poet (Los Cien Mejores Poemas)
1932 Charlie Rich ‘The Silver Fox’: Grammy Award-winning singer: Behind Closed Doors
►◄ Actors
1908 Morey Amsterdam, comedian (Buddy-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1914 Dan Dailey, dancer/actor
Patty Duke, 64, actress (Oscar for The Miracle Worker; Emmy for My Sweet Charlie)
Vanessa Hudgens, 22, actress (High School Musical)
1935 Lee Remick actress: Days of Wine and Roses…
ATHLETICS
William Joseph (Bill) Buckner, 61, baseball (Dodgers, Cubs, Royals, Red Sox, Angels)
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1922 Don Hewitt New York NY, CBS news executive producer (60 Minutes)
POLITICS
1896 James H Doolittle US Army General (Raid on Tokyo 1942)
1895 George VI king of England (1936-52)
1897 Margaret Chase Smith (Representative/Senator-R-ME)
SCIENCE & RELIGION
Leonardo Boff, 72, Catholic theologian
1503 Nostradamus [Michel de Nostre-Dam] French astrologist/prophet
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
William Bendix actor (Life of Riley), pneumonia @ 58 in 1964
Carlos III King of Naples/Spain (1759-88), @ 72 in 1788
Stubby Kaye actor (Guys & Dolls, Sweet Charity), @ 79 in 1997
Myrna Loy [Williams] actress (Thin Man, Vanity Fair), @ 88 in 1993
Jock Mahoney actor (Tarzan, Dallas, Cow Town, Range Rider), stroke @ 70 in 1989
Roger Maris homerun hitter (61 in 61, New York Yankees), cancer @ 51 in 1985
John A C Oudemans Dutch geographer/astronomer, @ 78 in 1906
Arthur Treacher TV announcer (Merv Griffin Show), @ 81 in 1975
Dinah Washington singer, pill overdose @ 39 in 1963
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1849 1st chamber music group in US gives their 1st concert (Boston)
ATHLETICS
1915 Jack Johnson is 1st black world heavyweight boxing champion
1953 Sandy Koufax, age 19, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers.
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1656 Artificial pearls 1st manufactured by M Jacquin in Paris made of gypsum pellets covered with fish scales
1793 1st state road authorized, Frankfort KY to Cincinnati OH
1798 David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patented the nut and bolt machine, and the screw
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1742 Settlers have finally moved into the valley of Virginia. Indians from the north have attacked several settlements and Catawbas Indians in the area. A European militia is formed to find the war party.
POLITICS (US)
1944 Congress establishes rank of General of the Army (5-star General)
POLITICS (International)
1287 Zuider Zee seawall collapses with loss of 50,000 lives
1939 Soviet Union attacks Finland - League of Nations drops Soviet Union
1981 Israel annexes Golan Heights (seized from Syria in war of 1967)
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1124 Theobald Buccapecus elected Pope Coelestinus II (he refuses)
1911 South Pole 1st reached, by Norwegian Roald Amundsen
1967 DNA created in a test tube
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
►He expected a debate but didn't expect to start a new church when he posted his "95 Theses" in 1517
Who was Martin Luther?
►Mark's gospel says this woman whom Jesus cured of seven demons was the first to see him resurrected
Who was Mary Magdalene?
►St. Monica's son, who lived a dissolute youth as he admitted in his "Confessions"
Who was St. Augustine?
►The king who had St. Thomas More put to death
Who was Henry VIII?
►The king who had St. Thomas of Becket put to death
Who was Henry II?
