“Every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.”
Ebeneezer Scrooge — Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”
Starting off today, let me wish all of you the best of the season. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Mele Kalikimaka, Frohe Weihnachten, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Christmas Alegre and a glorious Winter Solstice! If I missed someone’s version of the December celebrations there, blame it on Google and its language tools.
Looking for a way to fill this space, I’ve decided to share a few choice holiday tidbits today. So in no particular order, here we go!
It’s one of the coldest places in California, Truckee. Gateway to Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. Also home to my favorite departed retail establishment, Tourist Liquor and Sporting Goods. This was a full stop shop. Why you could pick up your Jack Daniels, shotgun shells, hunting and fishing licenses, live bait and the latest issue of Playboy all in one place! What was once a nice little blue collar town (the railroad, lumber and ice industries all flourished nearby) has now become another suburban nightmare. Still, a nice place to visit from time to time and here’s a webcam view of downtown. Check out the Bar of America or the Wagon Wheel Café if you stop by.
A guilty pleasure if there ever was one! TBS again runs “A Christmas Story” for a full 24 hours starting Christmas Eve at 8:00 p.m.
Going through the old files, I found a few miscellaneous images to share from some visits to Disneyland. So, as well as wish we could be there, enjoy these views:
Finishing up, here’s what has to be one of my all time favorite holiday moments, from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965):
“Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you. Lights, please.”
(A spotlight shines on Linus.)
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men’. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
Now if you’re looking for something to do next month, I still have a few places on our annual private railroad car excursion from Emeryville to Reno/Sparks and back. That’s going to be held on January 22 and 23.
We’re doing something a bit different this year with a classic art deco dome lounge observation car that once was part of the famed “California Zephyr”. Using this unique car to it’s fullest advantage, we plan to offer lunch each dame seated in the dome atop the car. It should be a great trip and I hope you can join us. For more information, please visit the web pages.
Hey, how about those “Scrooges” at Target this year? If you can’t drop a few coins in the bucket there for the Salvation Army, try this link and do so online. And the Red Cross can also put your loose change to good use as well. It shouldn’t hurt to help at this time of year, so do what you can. It does make a difference!
Finally, Michele, Cruiser and I all wish you the best of this holiday season. The most precious gifts we have are each other, and the best thing that happens at this time of year is being able to spend time with all of those we hold so dear. We hope you are able to do so as well.