Twas the Night Before Christmas: A Visit From St. Nicholas

Twas The Night Before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."



by Clement Moore

For the kiddies.
Or just to remember back when you were one.

[image:encyclopediabritanica;dotiesdiner.com]
Source: Using the Night Before Christmas as a Reading Comprehension Tool



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Aviators Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.

The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.

I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.

When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.

A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Called for clearance to land at the airport below.

He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St.Nick";

I ran to the panel to turn up thelights,
The better to welcome this magical flight.

He called his position, no room for denial,
"St. Nicholas One, turnin' left onto final."

And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!

With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,

As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:
"Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!

On Comet! On Cupid!" What pills was he takin'?

While controllers were sittin', and scratchin' their head,
They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,

The message they left was both urgent and dour:
"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower".

He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
Then I heard "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking."

He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
And stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho- ho..."

He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.

His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.

His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale.

His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
His boots were as black as a crop duster's belly.

He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
And he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low-lead."

He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
I knew he was anxious for drainin' the sump.

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled, like a jerk.

He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.

And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.

He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"

And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.

"Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion."

He sped down the runway, the best of the best,
"Your traffic's a Grumman, inbound from the west."

Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed through the night,

"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight."


by RidesAPaleHorse
[graphic:RAPH]




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Santa Knocked Out Cold: Ho Ho Ouch!

Maybe it was the Grinch?

Santa played a strange part in Washington state--that of victim.

The local Santa was knocked out cold by something--or someone--that clearly didn't have the spirit of Christmas within.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A man dressed as Santa Claus was knocked unconscious by a thrown object that hit his face while he was riding on the back of a truck decorated as a sleigh.

Kevin Smith says he never saw what hit him Saturday. Whatever it was, it broke his nose and gave him a concussion and two black eyes.

"One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said.

He was taking part in Santa Run, sponsored by the firefighters union, which features off-duty firefighters who dress up as Santa and ride through residential areas handing out candy to children.

Other volunteers realized something was wrong after they hadn't heard from Smith for a few minutes. They stopped the truck and found him lying unconscious.

"It pretty much cold-cocked him," fire Lt. Scott Himelspach said.

Smith awoke in the back of the sleigh.

"They thought I'd spilled my hot chocolate, but then they realized it was blood," Smith said. "The rest of the night was kind of hazy."

Smith, a firefighter for eight years, said he hoped to return to work on Christmas Day.

Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said an assault report was filed with police but that no witnesses have come forward.

Hopefully, Santa will recover.

In the meantime, if whoever knocked out Santa thinks they "got away with it": think again.

Santa knows when you've been naughty.

Santa knows when you're going to be asleep.

And Santa will be back.



by Mondoreb
[images:narulto;joedunn]
Source: Brietbart - Santa Knocked Out Cold



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Santa Saved By Conroe Firefighters

Fireplaces may be a piece of cake for St. Nick but extreme sports was not his forte last Sunday in Conroe, Texas.

As a part of Conroe’s annual tree lighting ceremony, a man dressed as Santa was repelling to the ground from an 80-foot sign when things got scary.

The jolly old elf got his beard caught on the line, and ended up hanging 30 feet in the air by the hair on his chinny chin chin!

With nary a whisker lost, Conroe firefighters saved Santa in front of the audience of cheering kids.

Kudos to Conroe's finest.

One last thought from DBTP: We can't help but notice that every year the Holiday "season" begins a little bit earlier than the previous one. Stores put out Christmas merchandise right after Halloween. In our opinion this rush to get "Christmas" on the shelves leads to "Holiday" overload and over-saturation. By the time Christmas rolls around we've been inundated by tinny X-Mas songs over store speakers for over a period of two months. Whatever Christmas used to mean has been replaced by crass commercialism.

By the time December 25th rolls around people are stressed out with maxed out credit and faked good will. Merchants will continue to push Christmas on us earlier than the previous year because it's been shown that the X-Mas season is their most profitable season.

Oh well. Happy Holidays Everyone

Source - KHOU NEWS - Conroe Firefighters Save Santa
By LBG
Image [GuySports.com]



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