Meridian Tribune (Meridian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 29, 2010 Page: 4 of 16
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Happy Holidays
7*1
V 1
Red, White &
' m
True Mysteries
f
Paul Niemann
neimann 7@aol. com
I usually tell the stories of Americans in this column,
and reveal their last names toward the end of the sto-
ry. Today we stretch those rules just a bit in a story
about a man named Nicholas.
He wasn’t technically an American, but I’m sure
there are a lot of people who think that he was. He is
a huge figure in American culture and tradition, even
though he lived more than 1,800 years ago.
Nicholas was born in southern Turkey in an area
known as Bari in 270 A.D. The area was then known
as Asia Minor. I cannot reveal his last name, even if
I wanted to. You see, people did not have last names
back then. Besides, he really doesn’t need one.
Nicholas’s parents died when he was a young man.
They were wealthy and Nicholas inherited their
wealth, but instead of spending it on himself, he dedi-
cated his life to helping others. He became a priest,
and when he later became the bishop of Myra, he be-
came known as Nicholas of Myra.
There are numerous stories of him giving away large
sums of his wealth - sometimes in the form of gold
since paper money was not in use at that point in his-
tory. One example of his generosity was what he did
for a poor man with three daughters.
It was common for the father of the bride to give
a dowry to his daughter’s future husband. One man
could not afford to give a dowry; as a result, his daugh-
ters would not be able to find husbands. As each
daughter came of age for marriage, Nicholas would
take a bag of gold and toss it in the open window of
the man’s house. He did this at night so that he would
not be recognized.
A different version of this story suggests that the
man planned to keep an eye out for Nicholas to learn
who he was, but in order to remain anonymous, Nich-
olas through the bag of gold down the chimney. The
daughter had washed her stockings that night and
hung them over the burning embers to dry, and the
bag of gold had fallen into her stocking. History has
not always been accurately kept, so this aspect of the
story may be more legend than fact.
As a bishop, Nicholas continued to give generously,
and he performed miracles as well. He was once tor-
tured and thrown in jail.
He died in 346 A.D. and was later canonized. To-
day he is known and loved in every Christian nation.
Yet very little was known about the life of St. Nich-
olas until after 800 A.D., nearly 500 years after he
died. Written records of history were not kept then
as they are today; one reason is that the printing press
was not invented until the mid-1400’s (by Johannes
Gutenberg).
Despite all of the good work that St. Nicholas did,
he is more well-known by his other name of Santa
Claus. But wouldn’t that mean that Santa Claus was
once in prison?
Yes, but it was his religious beliefs for which he was
imprisoned. (In fact, he was there with so many oth-
er priests and bishops that many of the real criminals
were running free.)
He has been known for many centuries as the pa-
tron saint of sailors, merchants, archers and children
and now, according to some people, pawn shops. Why
pawn shops?
Because he was known for helping the poor. The
three gold balls that serve as a symbol of pawn shops
allegedly represent the three bags of gold that Nicho-
las threw in the poor man’s window to help him find
husbands for his daughters. But this aspect of the sto-
ry may be more legend than fact as well.
Some people think that the name of Santa Claus
was translated from either the name of Sint Klaes or
the Dutch name of Sinterklaas. Personally, I think that
the name St. Nicholas, when spoken with a Dutch ac-
cent, is what was originally translated into the name
of “Santa Claus.”
7/ >
Making Tracks
1
Carol Spicer - Meridian Tribune
carol@cliftonrecord. com
For the first half of my life Christmas meant a good
likelihood of snow, tall fir trees decorated to the hilt,
full stockings hung on the mantle with a fire keep-
ing everyone warm, and lots of fun with family and
friends - the childhood dream - some true, some not
so true.
Having lived in Texas for the second half of my life,
I’ve found that Christmas doesn’t usually mean snow,
or fir trees, or fireplaces, or mantles to hang stockings
from - but the true meaning of the season can still be
found with good memories.
This year’s seasonal memories started when I found
the “perfect” present for someone special and then
continued when I enjoyed cruising the malls and find-
ing all the little stuff to fill two stockings for other
special people. My favorite thing is finding presents
for the people that matter, and the fun in wrapping
them.
Then, as Christmas neared, I had the chance to spend
time with carolers and visit a live nativity scene.
Now it’s Christmas Eve, and as many years in the
past, the peace and goodwill of the candlelight service
beckons. The story of the season and the songs of the
season ring out in a message of peace on earth.
! \
Stargazer
Paul Derrick - Astronomer
V T
paulderrickwaco@aol. com
This year saw the death of Jack Horkheimer who for
25 years was known to PBS viewers as the “Star Gazer”
(formerly the “Star Hustler”). He began each weekly 5-
minute show with his exuberant trademark, “Greetings,
greetings, fellow star gazers,” and ended with an invitation
to “Keep looking up.” His enthusiasm for naked-eye as-
tronomy was as zany as it was irresistible.
The following adaptations of two of my previous col-
umns is a tribute the beloved Star Gazer.
In Christianity the manger symbolizes the birth of Je-
sus while the cross represents his death. As pointed out
by Horkheimer, the Christmas season is the one time of
year when the astronomical versions of these symbols are
simultaneously in the night sky in the early evening.
Low in the northwest is the constellation Cygnus the
Swan, the middle five stars of which form a pattern in-
formally called the Northern Cross. At 9 p.m. the base of
the cross stands near the horizon with the brightest star
at the top 25 degrees above and the crossbar spanning 15
degrees. (The width of your fist held at arm’s length is 10
degrees.)
Coming up in the east is the constellation Cancer the
Crab, home of the lovely star cluster popularly known as
the Beehive, but also named Praesepe, Latin for “manger.”
Under dark, moonless skies, Praesepe appears as a soft
fuzzy patch larger than a full Moon. Binoculars resolve
dozens of individual stars.
While both the cross and the manger are briefly in the
sky at the same time, seeing them concurrently is a chal-
lenge. As the cross begins sinking into the horizon, the
manger is still too low for easy viewing.
So it’s best to look for the cross around 7:30 p.m. when
its top is 35 degrees and its bottom 15 degrees above the
horizon. The base star, which is not very bright, is flanked
by two bright stars, Altair (left) and Vega. By 10:30 p.m.
the manger has risen to 30 degrees above the horizon and
My daughter couldn’t wait for Christmas morning,
so it turned into an opening of presents on Christmas
Eve - and to my surprise (despite the fact that she has
always had an artistic bent) she had handmade the
wonderful presents she gave me.
Christmas day passed quietly and pleasantly, a new
book, lots of Christmas on the TV, and time to sit
down and finish an after Christmas column for the
paper, and get ready for the New Year just around the
corner.
This time of year old dreams come to mind and I
wonder where all the years and miles have gone. Most
of the dreams have been put aside or lost in the reality
of life and living - but one is still alive and warming
me this Christmas night.
And so, the New Year comes in with one resolution
on my mind - even though I swore years ago never to
make resolutions that I would break. The resolution
is not to lose weight, or stop smoking - both of which
I need to do - but it is to straighten my life out and
make sure that I know where I’m going, and how I’m
going to get there. Life may keep throwing in wringers
in the mix to trip us up, but if we stay focused we can
all make our lives better in the coming year, despite all
the external forces.
The resolution is simple - try to help find peace
and happiness all around me and not worry about the
things that I can do nothing about.
Happiness - the childhood dream - can be true if
we let it.
Happy New Year and blessings to all.
is much easier to see.
This season, being near the winter solstice, is special in
many religions. So whatever yours, the Stargazer wishes
you and yours peace, joy and especially love. And, deep
gratitude to Star Gazer Jack Horkheimer who shared his
wonderful life with millions and whose self-written epi-
taph is priceless: “Keep Looking Up was my life’s admoni-
tion, I can do little else in my present position.”
♦ Sky Calendar.
♦ Dec. 27 Mon.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
♦ 29 Wed. morning: The star Spica is above the crescent
Moon with Saturn further above in the southeast.
♦ 31 Fri. morning: A crescent Moon is to the lower right
of brilliant Venus in the southeast; the next morning the
Moon is above Antares; and by Sun. morning a very thin
crescent Moon is to the lower left of Mercury near the ho-
rizon at dawn.
♦ 2-5 Sun.- Wed. evenings: Bright Jupiter passes within
a moonwidth to the lower left to left of much fainter Ura-
nus; use binoculars to spot Uranus.
♦ 3 Mon.: Earth is at perihelion, its nearest point to the
Sun in its annual orbit at a distance of 91.4 million miles.
♦ 3/4 Mon. night/Tue. morning: The Quadrantid me-
teor shower peaks to the north with no Moon interfer-
ence all night; most meteor showers are best in the morn-
ing, but greater activity is expected in the evening this
time.
+ 4 Mon.: The new Moon produces a partial solar eclipse
but not in our part of the world.
♦ 9 Sun. & 10 Mon. evenings: The Moon passes within
a fist-width (held at arm’s length) of Jupiter.
♦ 11-22 mornings: Venus passes within a fist-width to
the left of Scorpius’ bright reddish star, Antares.
♦ 12 Wed. evening: The Moon is at 1st quarter.
♦ Naked-eye Planets. Evening: Jupiter, bright in the
southwest, sets before midnight. Morning: Venus dom-
inates the southeast with Saturn higher above. Mercury
makes an appearance near the southeastern horizon early
in the month.
Stargazer appears every other week. Paul Derrick is an am-
ateur astronomer who lives in Waco. Contact him at 918 N.
30th, Waco, 76707, (254) 753-6920 or paulderrickwaco@
aol.com. See the Stargazer Web site at stargazerpaul.com.
The Idle
American
Dr. Don Newberry
newberry@speakerdoc. com
Looking Back at Christmas
Post-Christmas feelings are vastly different from the warm fuzzy
dreams fluffing up our nighttime slumber leading up to the festive
holiday. Sort of like confetti. Views of folks dropping it from tall
buildings to the parade below are at variance with the clean-up crew
wading in the stuff on snowy streets.
Among many sobering thoughts are:
1) Adornments, both inside and out, must soon come down. (And
much “disassembly” is required.)
2) Pounds added at sumptuous meals—enlivened by “we-only-
live-once” banter that drowns out reason’s flimsy voice—will be void-
ed only by exercise and dietary drudgery shrouding long stretches of
time. Pyramids went up faster.
3) Attitudes of resolve are not easily mustered. One guy remem-
bers a Christmas past when post-holiday depression tugged might-
ily. “I was so low I could walk under a bathtub with a fireman’s hel-
met on,” he groaned.
Fans of the Texas Rangers are still moping about pitching ace Cliff
Lee opting to play henceforth (or at least for five years) for the Phil-
adelphia Phillies. And a Philadelphia newspaper “rubbed it in” with
headline cleverness: “Merry CLIFFmas!”
Lee’s decision to retreat to the National League saves would-be
mathematicians a bunch of work. Had he stayed around, they’d be
buzzing about how many thousand dollars he makes per pitch, etc.
My Uncle Mort claims he knew from the “git-go” that Lee would
join a National League team. “I’m satisfied he wants to become the
first modern day major leaguer to set the standard for both pitch-
ing AND batting.”
Many of us can lay claim to memorable nuggets meriting laughter
throughout the year simply by noting grandchildren’s animated con-
versations. And this doesn’t cost a thing.
I’m particularly fond of the banter of 3-4 year-olds. With minds
like sponges, they “want to know” and are not hesitant to ask. (A few
years up the way, feeling already “in the know,” they’ll be far more
into telling than listening.)
Our four-year-old Kedren, learning that seeds become plants, kit-
tens grow into cats, colts soon are horses, etc., is wide-eyed at pro-
cesses of growth all around him. He dreams of reaching “tall enough
to” goals. The other day, he inquired about the age of his family’s
suburban. Learning that it was three years old when acquired two
years ago, he questioned, “How big was it when we got it?...
Equal time department: Grand niece Avery, at Christmastime last
year, was asked to name her favorite among the reindeer pulling
Santa’s sleigh, Olive,” she answered.
Her family explained that when Santa’s reindeer are harnessed for
their annual flight, there’s nary an “Olive” in the bunch.
The then three-year-old wasn’t convinced.“Yes there is,” she main-
tained. “You know, Olive, the other reindeer.’
I’m reaching back a couple of months for this nugget. My wife and
I were in Brownwood for homecoming at Howard Payne Univer-
sity. (They let presidential “has beens” ride in the parade, in a con-
vertible yet!)
Four grandchildren accompanied us, three of them yelling"HPU! ’
with the cheerleaders.
Addison, age 3, failed to grasp the concept. Besides, her mind over-
flowed with memories of media broadsides heralding the opening of
a new grocery store in our town. A trio repeated yells of“HPU!” and
one lone voice proclaimed “H-E-B!”
This year’s final tale is attributed to Uncle Mort, my 98-year-old
kin down in the thicket. He’s bragging about successfully complet-
ing a short course he called “computers for old people.”
On top of this, he may make Guinness World Records for hav-
ing the longest computer password. Taught that the passwords re-
quire eight characters, he chose“curly/joe/moe/gabby/daffy/goofy/
mickey/minnie.” I’m satisfied that my wife will be valedictorian of a
similar class in our town. She has a distinct advantage, since she al-
ready knew the keyboard going in.
Happy New Year, one and all. Keep an ear out, and when you hear
a good un, write it down! And then, share it.
Dr. Newbury is a speaker in the Metroplex. Send inquiries/comments
to: newbury@speakerdoc.com. Phone: 817-447-3872. Web site: www.
speakerdoc.com.
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Phillips, Dennis. Meridian Tribune (Meridian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 29, 2010, newspaper, December 29, 2010; Meridian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth703702/m1/4/?q=%22Business%2C+Economics+and+Finance+-+Advertising%22: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Meridian Public Library.