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THE HERALD December Peace on Earth Goodwill to Men By BARBARA ANN SUCCO old man placed his chair in front of the window of his tiny one room flat and sat as he did every day to watch the cars and people come and go from the municipal parking lot below He was hidden from view behind shabby semi transparent curtains and while sipping from a mug of cold tea he speculated on the lives of the peo ple he observed The snow that had started earlier In the morning now blanketed the lot and the cars slid in and out of the parking spaces A snow capped parking meter stood like a rigid sentry before each parked vehicle Men and women most with small snow suited children in tow loaded the trunks and back seats of their cars with colored Christmas boxes They don t look very happy he mumbled noting their expressions of frustration Many staggered beneath the weight of countless packages some gestured angrily at the snow that had accumulated on their windshields during their absence and yet others ing tired children behind them trudged through the lot to the mam street shopping area The snow flakes continud to fall from the cloudy December sky and the old man sighed happily He wanted a white Christmas for it was reminiscent of the holidays of his youth in northern Ontario The snow arrived early there covering the landscape with a quilt of the whitest cotton On Christmas day he along with his brothers and sisters would proudly shoulder the sleds they found beneath the tree to the closest hill returning just before Christmas dinner with sodden mittens amid whoops of glee Taking a gulp of tea be con tinued to watch the area below The day progressed and the darkness crept slowly in through his window One by one the stores were closing for the evening and the traffic in he lot began to dissipate Enjoy your Christmas eve he shouted to a woman with two children who unaware of his blessing drove cautiously through the snow and out of the parking lot He bent down to place the chip ped mug on the floor at his feet before nestling into the over stuffed chair The stage below was empty the players having returned to their warm homes to prepare for Christmas eve He closed his weary eyes and the Happy hollydays HOLLY one of the moil beloved of wit often sold from a carl In the century allowed the vendor to travel from place to place ware above In a drawing from 1848 Christmas supplement of ruled London Newt Illustration New York Public Library Picture Collection FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE The Belt For Mora tab VIDEO PLUS Wosl of F ml Mo I BRING HOME A STAR tuU Htm Mm 134 SI Georgetown KING TACO SOFT TACO BEEF BURRITO BURRITO SUPREME DOUBLE BEEF SUPREME 10MOUNTAINVIEWRD GEORGETOWN pale yellow light from the street lamp filtered into the dark room subtly highlighting his wrinkled road map of a face He remembered his children their animated voices and their faces flushed with excitement setting the wooden kitchen table with cookies and milk for Santa and his reindeer He could hear them debating the types of cookies to leave Each an expert on what reindeer liked best He thought of Lily her dark shoulder length hair falling loose ly about her face mediating the bedlam with her usual soft spoken authority Later Lily and he would ex change amused glances knowing their offspring were lying awake in their beds listening eagerly for the sound of hoof beats on the roof and each child positive the follow ing morning that he had hear the bearded man arrival before succumbing to sleep He smiled remembering the colored lights they had strung across the branches of what he had assured them the greatest tree anywhere il luminating the cozy living room with a rainbow of festive colors He strained to recapture the scent of the Yule log burning in the grate His fondest memory was sitting on the comfortable sofa with Lily her dark head resting contented ly his shoulder reading the Christmas story aloud A King is born she would read smiling tenderly up into his face Peace on earth goodwill to men The old man was startled by a clatter from the flat above Did cloven dance upon his rooftop The sounds of anger penetrating the wall from the flat next door obliterated the echo of children s voices A tear flowed unbidden down his cheek as he tried to capture and retain his memories He wept further recalling only the frustrated faces he had seen from his window the people oblivious to their countless bless ing unaware of the messsage and promise given to them on the birth of the Christ child Peace on earth goodwill to men he whispered into the darkness before drifting off to revisit those days so long ago Home Made F Never Frozen We Se Halibut Cod Sh mp On on ngs Mushrooms Chchen Fngeis AND MORE ly Boxes le Orders DINE IN OR TAKE OUT Group FAST TAKEOUT mil 8770239 Georgetown Market Plate Centre Alley GEORGETOWN CINEMAS 235 STREET 8731999 CINEMA 1 iSSI Evenings 7 00 1 Wed Thurs Fri Dec 26th 27th 28th 4 pm CINEMA 2 4th GREAT WEEK A Family Evening 7 MATINEES Wed Thurs Fri Dec 26th 27th p CINEMA 3 NOW PLAYING LOOK WHOS TALKING TOO WARNING Mature Thenw Evenings 7 00S 15 pm MATINEES Wed Thurs Fri Dec 26th 27th 4 2