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Rod & Kubby. Photo by Bob Gentry, ©2002 by Stanyan Entertainment Group.

A Thought for Today

Faith dignifies humanity with the promise of immortality.

 

PASS IT MALONG

UNDER WHERE?

This one must be making the rounds because it arrived last week from both BJ and Jane.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

One Christmas Eve, three Newfies died and approached the Pearly Gates. St. Peter met them and told them to go away and come back the next day, as he was way too busy with Christmas Eve to attend to them right then.

They pleaded that they had no place to go and for St. Pete to let them in.

Finally he said, "OK, if you each can come up with something related to Christmas I'll let you in."

The first Newfie takes out his car keys, and shakes them. St. Peter asks what that had to do with Christmas. The Newfie said that it represented the Bells of Christmas. St Peter lets him in.

The second Newfie takes out his keys; he has one of those little lights on his chain, and turns it on. St. Peter asks what that had to do with Christmas. The Newfie responded by saying, “It represents the Star of Bethlehem.”

“You may pass, My Son,” replies St Peter.

The third Newfie reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of woman's panties, and St Peter asks him what that was all about. The Newfie says: “They're Carols".


VIRUS

This just in from Janice.

NO VACCINE

It seems that there is a virus out there called the Senile Virus and even the most advanced programs from Norton seem powerless to purge it. Apparently it only affects those of us born before 1958. Here are some of the symptoms & results of the “SeVi,” as it is not too affectionately known.

1. Causes you to send same e-mail twice.

2. Causes you to send blank e-mail.

3. Causes you to send to wrong person.

4. Causes you to send back to person who sent it to you.

5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment.

6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished the mes

THE FINAL CHRISTMAS GROANER

Andrea sent this with the following explanation:

“This is a bit late for a Christmas Pass It Along, but I hadn't seen it before and it made me giggle.”

Me too, Andrea.

A Russian couple was walking down the street in Moscow one night, when the man felt a drop hit his nose.

"I think it's raining", he said to his wife.

"No, that felt more like snow to me", she replied.

"No, I'm sure it was just rain, he said".

Well, as these things go, they were about to have a major argument about whether it was raining or snowing. Just then they saw a minor communist party official walking toward them.

"Let's not fight about it", the man said, "Let's ask Comrade Rudolph whether it's officially raining or snowing".

As the official approached, the man said, "Tell us, Comrade Rudolph, is it officially raining or snowing?"

"It's raining, of course", he replied, and walked on.

But the woman insisted: "I know that felt like snow!", to which the man quietly replied:




. . . wait for it . . .








"Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear"


SITE OF THE WEEK

Last week we gave you Bob Gentry’s Jacko’s Bouncing Baby website, this week Susan Badger offers the site below. I’m sure you will find it as motivating as I did.

http://www.despair.com

 

Photo of Bob Gentry & Rod by Val Riolo, Citrus College, November 2002 © 2002 by Val Riolo & Stanyan Music Group. All rights reserved.

About today’s download

This year Jim Pearson and I produced three new Christmas CD’s for Varese Saraband Records: Winter Wonderland (A collection of songs about this beautiful season), Holiday Magic (a set of carols for orchestra) and “Santa’s Greatest Hits” which contains, you guessed it, Santa’s Greatest Hits. The album has lots of familiar material such as Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Santa Baby, Boogie Woogie Santa Clause, The Night Before Christmas, A Rootin’ Tootin’ Santa Clause, The Christmas Song . . . well you get the idea . . . and a couple of originals.

For several years I’ve carried around in my head the first sixteen bars of a song entitled Life is Too Short Not to Believe in Santa Clause. I kept threatening to complete it but never did. So I ran what I had by Bob Gentry this past summer and one evening we completed it together.

In addition to co-writing this instant smash (Hey! It’s in an album called Santa’s Greatest Hits, remember?) Bob did the splendid arrangement for the recording, which was made at Private Island Tracks this past September. Once again the vocals are handled by Four Friends (Jack Brenton, Michael Cline, Bob & myself) and Bob even conducted The Stanyan Brass for this unstoppable recording.

Those of you who caught my November concerts in California and Illinois will be familiar with Life is Too Short Not to Believe in Santa Clause since Bob and I introduced it in both places. For those hearing it for the first time we hope you like our new song and appreciate its year around philosophy.

Life is Too Short Not to Believe in Santa Clause
Words & Music by Bob Gentry & Rod McKuen


Life is Too Short Not to Believe in Santa Clause
Imagine a world where he never is or never was
So deep in the darkest night
Believing can make things bright
Cause Life is Too Short not to Believe in Santa Clause.

Life is too short not to believe in mistletoe
Angel wings and other things like candle glow
So hang all your favorite sox
And wrap every Christmas box
‘Cause Life is Too Short Not to Believe in Santa Clause.

From July to December is a long, long time to wait
But try to remember it won’t be long
Till we’ll be singin’ this song
On that deep December date

Life is Too Short not to believe in Christmas Songs
Having you here to lend me your ear and sing along
So give us some jingle bells
And mama’s sweet kitchen smells
‘Cause Life is Too short Not to Believe in Santa Clause.

When the snow starts in fallin’ the smiles begin to grow
You can hear sleigh bells callin’
So stick out your chin and make a big grin
Tell the chilly winds where to go.

Life is too short not to believe that dreams come true
Believe in miracles and you can bet they’ll believe in you
So no matter how near or far
Reach up for that shining star
‘Cause life is too short not to believe in Santa Clause.

© 2002 by Stanyan Music Group & God Made Dirt Music All rights reserved. Used by permission

Click on the link below to start your download:

LIFE IS TOO SHORT NOT TO BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUSE

For PC users a simple left-click on the above link should start the download automatically. If you're having problems, try right-clicking on the link and select "save target as....".

Mac users should click and hold for menu options, then select the save option. A Mac alternative is to hold down the option button and click the link to download and save.

What are the chances of Marlene Dietrich and Howdy Doody sharing a birthday you say? Well if it’s December 27th they are good to excellent. Sleep warm.

RM 12/26/2002 7:34 PM PST

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notable birthdays John Amos o Gerard Depardieu o Marlene Dietrich o ‘Howdy Doody’ o Tovah Feldshuh o Sydney Greenstreet o Rich Jones o Michael Joseph o David Knopfler o Eva LaRue o Oscar Levant o Dr. William Masters o Heather O’Rourke o Louis Pasteur o Cokie Roberts o Roy White
Rod's random thoughts Love is an act of giving. Giving is an act of love.

I am not convinced that truth alone can make us free, but I believe it a beginning and a final resting place.

Know yourself and be successful.

BETHLEHEM BC
 

You could hear
the flapping of their wings
for some distance –
not a sudden rush
       or panic made by masses
but a slow coming together
quietly in the air.

Then, following that yellow highway
that the star provided
into Bethlehem they came.

Slow. Slow. Quietly.
Like snowfall making up it’s mind
before a winter downpour

And winter it was.

On the ground
we huddled – first in awe,
        then in fright
thinking it miracle enough
that our important lives
should be interrupted
by creatures on a winter’s eve
who flew above us and beyond us,
to settle in the barnyard
         at the other end of town.

(We make up miracles to suit ourselves
and so we knew these winged persons
had been sent for our amazement,
and not to please the cattle
in an unremembered farmer’s barn.)

Were you there?

But file into the barn they did
while some kept vanguard in the air
as though imagining they guarded
some important person
living there.

Some of us went home,
having seen them with no ill effect.
In the morning there’d be stores to open,
pigs to feed
and stories to enlarge upon
concerning what had happened
on the night before.

Were you there?

-from “The Carols of Christmas,” 1967, 1971

 
© 1967, 1971, 1994, 2002 by Stanyan Music Group & Rod McKuen. All Rights Reserved
Birthday research by Wade Alexander o Poetry from the collection of Jay Hagan o Coordinated by Melinda Smith o Sound & Fury Dr. Eric Yeager o Webmaster Ken Blackie
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