[Bar Chat returns 12/27]
New York Jets / Titans Quiz (1960 – 2000): 1) First coach?
[Hint: Two seasons] 2) Who replaced Weeb Ewbank as coach in
1974? [Hint: Coached 9 games into a second season.] 3) Most
TD, career? 4) What NFC team are the Jets 0-6 against in their
history? Answers below.
Apollo 8
Growing up, one of the more dramatic memories as a kid was
staying up Christmas Eve 1968 to follow the remarkable voyage
of Apollo 8.
If ever a nation needed a pick me up, it was America in ”68, after
the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert
Kennedy, with the ongoing war in Vietnam and the dramatic Tet
Offensive, and after LBJ”s sudden withdrawal from the
presidential race, the turbulent Democratic Convention, and the
invasion of Czechoslovakia. Yes, we were ready for a little
space adventure.
Apollo 8 would be the first manned mission to orbit the moon.
Commanded by Frank Borman, with James Lovell, Jr. and
William Anders, it was launched on December 21 and on
Christmas Eve the 3 began their orbit. What made it all even
more dramatic was the first go round to the dark side of the
moon, when all communication was lost until they reemerged at
the other side. It was the middle of night for us viewers, at least
in the Eastern time zone, and I also remember that Apollo was
sending back spectacular photos of earth.
Borman described the moon as “a vast, lonely and forbidding
sight,” and Lovell called Earth, “a grand oasis in the big vastness
of space.” The crew members then took turns reading from the
Book of Genesis / Creation:
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the
earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the
deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. And
God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light
from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he
called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the
first day..
James Lovell would later say, “Please be informed, that there is a
Santa Claus.” And Borman concluded with, “Merry Christmas.
God bless all of you, all of you on the Good Earth.”
—–
The Gospel According to Luke
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all
the world should be registered. This was the first registration
and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went
to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the
town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family
of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was
engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there,
the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to
her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him
in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be
afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all
the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you
will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth 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 heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made
known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and
Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this,
they made known what had been told them about this child; and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her
heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
—–
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
A famous letter from Virginia O”Hanlon to the editorial board of
the New York Sun, first printed in 1897:
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the
communication below, expressing at the same time our great
gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the
friends of The Sun:
Dear Editor –
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa
Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it”s so.” Please tell
me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?”
Virginia O”Hanlon
…
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except
they see. They think that nothing can be which is not
comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia,
whether they be men”s or children”s, are little. In this great
universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as
compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by
the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and
knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they
abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas!
How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It
would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be
no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable
this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense
and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the
world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in
fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the
chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you
did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no
Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that
neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that”s no proof that they
are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders
there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby”s rattle and see what makes the noise
inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not
the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the
strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry,
love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture
the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah,
Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years
from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
—–
A Visit from St. Nicholas
By Clement C. Moore [Well, he really stole it, but that”s a story
for another day.this is the original version.]
”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 our brains 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 head, 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!”
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/21/74: #1 “Cat”s In The Cradle”
(Harry Chapin) #2 “Kung Fu Fighting” (Carl Douglas) #3
“Angie Baby” (Helen Reddy.what a crappy week)
New York Jets Quiz Answers: 1) First coach was Sammy
Baugh, who went 14-14 in his two seasons. 2) Charley Winner
replaced Weeb Ewbank in ”74 and went 9-14.7-7 his 1st season
and then 2-7 the 2nd, before being replaced by Ken Shipp. 3) TD,
career: Don Maynard, 88. 4) The Jets are 0-6 against
Philadelphia, the only franchise they haven”t beaten (that they”ve
played at least once).
Next Bar Chat, Thursday, Dec. 27. The editor is taking a little
break.
Merry Christmas, my friends.
