Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tree.” Use the word “tree” or write about a tree. Any kind of tree. Enjoy! After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
Tiny Tim asks his father, “Can a man be brave if he’s afraid?’
“That’s the only time he can be brave. Some wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word— fear cuts deeper than swords. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you.”
Christmas is coming. It is known. Ebenezer Scrooge sits counting his money while surrounding villagers starve. His attitude is simple, “A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of a sheep.
Tiny Tim asks his Uncle Scrooge to share Christmas Eve with him and his family. Scrooge refuses the invitation and retires to his bed. Suddenly ominous noises are heard and Scrooge sees the specter of an old employee, Jacob Marley—“The night is dark and full of terrors”.
Jacob Marley is one of three ghosts to visit Scrooge this night. The first is Jacob, the Ghost of Christmas Past, who cautions Scrooge to change his miserly ways. “Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king.” Scrooge is afraid, but not yet convinced, and thinks, “the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.”
This might have been true in previous situations, but Scrooge had taken the meaning as a selfish quest. As the second ghost appears, the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ebenezer is shown the Cratchit family and how happy they are, even though poverty stricken. This ghost cautions Scrooge further: “Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the third and final ghost to appear to Scrooge. “You know nothing, Ebenezer Scrooge” and shows Scrooge what it will be like if he doesn’t change. “The world is overflowing with horrible things, but they’re all a tray of cakes next to death.” Scrooge sees death for him and through his bad treatment of Bob Cratchit, the death of Tiny Tim. Finally his mind begins to soften.
On Christmas Day Scrooge awakes from the ghostly nightmares and decides to share his wealth. He joins the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim ends this tale by saying “God bless us, everyone”.
With no hesitation, the female representative launched a rough speech onstage, with condemnation of a fellow colleague. Apparently she is trying to intimidate her adversary, flexing her use of social media with misspelled tweets and yelling outright at her in person. This causes a rift in government proceedings and accomplishes nothing except showing how ridiculous she is. Be ashamed, be very ashamed.
And then there’s this:
“The power of these images lies not just in the guns but in who can wield them with cultural impunity, and toward what end.” Dec. 9, 2021, 5:33 AM ESTBy Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Columnist
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If you are a fan of Maggie Smith you will not want to miss “A Boy Called Christmas” on Netflix. I must mention the mouse that accompanies the boy—adorable. I must never get too old to enjoy stories like this. Family fare.
Surrounded by moving boxes, most everyday use items already packed so it is a hassle. No Christmas decos and shopping in an actual store is not conducive to staying healthy. Two family members had a bout of Covid and I found out my eldest son has serious health issues.
The holidays will come and go another year with all the usual activities curtailed or given up altogether. If I sound discouraged it’s because I am. But the “olden” days of Christmas cheer have gone by the wayside for me with the daily news of violence.
I need to take heart, and think of the trial of my late husband’s grandmother who sat at home with four sons away in WWII.
“You know I hate change, and yet you expect me to plunge into setting up this new fangled television with a cable connection? Is there a book, a manual, even? You know I’m not good at this technical stuff. What’s wrong with the radio? We could dance to the radio—you know, romance—dancing cheek to cheek? What do you say, turtle dove?”
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