Christmas morning, 2022

I woke up from a wonderful dream. I have them a lot, These numinous dreams of a sacred place where my sailboat, truck and dog and friends are.  I pray when I wake. I don’t know the time.  I just pray then Madigan somehow knows I’m awake and rests his head on the back of my neck. I’m loved.

The front toilet is still plugged but the back toilet works.

I pray some more sitting on the chair. I’ve avoided exercise. My back hurts. It’s 645 am.  

I remember as a child with mom and Dad and Ron in the front room, the yard full of snow, presents under the tree, childhood.  I didnt know Rockwell but he must have been there for so much of it.

This week I’ve been remembering the sledding and tobogganing on the slope to the Red River.  The adults walking us down to there. The dog knowing joy.  Later I loved the turkey dinners with Aunt Sally.  

Now I’m alone with Madigan.   My wrist vibrates with another Signal notice from the Nephews and Adell.  Last night’s storm has stopped and Graeme’s picture of Hay Bay is idyllic.  They’ve sent a beef and Edam cheese basket from Hickory farms.  The beef sausage came with the best mustard. I’m really enjoying it sharing it with Madigan. Last night I watched Violent Night, the Andrew suggestion,. It really was funny. I ate the last of the box of Lindz chocolate I was gifted,

I spent two days working on getting the frozen water line fixed and the frozen sewage dump line emptied.  I succeeded in all but getting the front toilet unplugged and think I’ll try a fishing pole later. I learned that I have to turn the water off to work on the toilet after it almost overflowed with my first foray.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. I was there.  We all were. I walked across the blood stained path from the previous nights fighting. I felt guns of Israelis and Palestinians targeting me while I walked through No Man’s land.  In Bethlehem there was hardly anyone.  Someone began singing oh little town of Bethlehem as we waited to pass the sacred place where Jesus was born, where once there’d only been manger. We sang together in a half dozens languages as we moved slowly through, stopping for private prayer in that place of holy synchronicity. 

I remembered as a pre teen and early teen I organzed a half dozen friends to go house to house Carole singing in the winter, an excuse to get together and have fun, a charity an afterthought.  Later I’d do the same in the children’s hospital with medical students.  Even later there was cross country skiing and snow shoeing.  Even later there was winter sailing. I remembered having Christmas alone at sea the time I sailed solo through winter hurricane’s to Hawaii. I was past the half way mark, enjoying watching episodes of Friends late at night.  I was 25 days alone at sea and sad.  The older I became the sadder Christmas was.  The booze was gone decades ago.

With the death of Jesus by crucifixion by the authorities, State and Church, Herod, Rome and the Sanhedrin, the Holy Spirit permeated this day’s existence.  The servant god came into being and the human sacrifices of paganism and tribal religion, even the Druids ended with the sacrifice of God himself.  

Mother Mary.Joseph, Wisemen.  The story that created western civilization as we know it.  

Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus.