6 ~ Sunday, December 24, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS. Nothing new to be said about our love of Xmas! THE WEEK before Christmas is the most dreaded in many a columnist's year. [t ’s driven more than one of the ink- stained wretches to quit and seek honest work. Those who hang in are regularly reduced to tears as Dec. 25 Jooms. Not — as one might hope — tears of remorse for all the vitriol spew- ed out by their word processors for 11 and a half months. Just tears of utter despair. For the other 51 weeks of the year the columnist keeps Kraft dinners on his table by giving readers his personal version of the newest way to think about every topic under the sun. Christmas is the one subject that defeats him. After 1,635 Christmases (started by Roman bishop Liberius in A.D. 354) and approximately a billion other writers since then who've publish- ed their solemn, soothing or cynical views about it, the odds against the Christmas columnist nowadays are impossible. He’s expected to say something NEW about Christmas. He knows he can’t deliver. December finds him, like the fallen emperor, seated at the keyboard of his IBM-compatible in naked shame. Different columnists have devis- ed different solutions. Some betray their profession, hold their noses and try — just for that one Christmas issue — to be nice to everyone from Brian Mulroney downward. It comes across with all the sincerity of a fox reading bedtime stories to the hens. Others postpone their long vaca- tion until December. Those who can’t frequently book off sick in mid-month. A few highly motivated scrib- blers write their Yuletide columns in July, when it's much easier to be their usual scornful, shocking selves. Having done their duty, they can happily forget the whole thing for another 12 months — not having to worry whether their hatchet job on Santa is ever actual- ly printed, Often it isn’t. Christmas makes editors sentimental and inclined to play things safe. They keep big **filler’’ files just for that purpose. So if you find your favorite col- umnist’s space today occupied by reader Smith's epic about The Three Kings or a selection of let- ters on “The Best Christmas We ¥ 4 4 \ Ever Had,” you'll know what's happened! But wait a minute — editors aren’t that dumb! Come to think of it, ‘playing things safe"’ is really what the season is all about. The very essence of Christmas lies in the fact that it IS safe, sure, and utterly dependable. Like one’s home. Like a child's security blanket. World events, especially in re- cent months, whirl around us too fast to be fully comprehended. pict. DISTRICT OF NORTH VANCOUVER FIREFIGHTERS SOCIETY Loc. 1183 PAY 19 THE ORR OF Dizzying national problems loom over our lives and our future. Per- sonal challenges confront us 365 days a year. Amid it all, the annual eight- week Christmas frenzy becomes a comforting, understandable con- firmation that life is still on track. Whatever eventually happens in Europe’s Eastern Bioc, we still have to find a gift for everyone on Pa aM MOSLIEL FOTN _ NEWS photo Pau! McGrath FOR A C8i8 AT CHRISTMAS...North Van District Firefighters Ron Spence (holding baby Matthew Monteith) and Larry Woolman present Lions Gate Hospital children’s ward with $15,000 — raised by their Fire Department at a casino night to buy 2 cardiac monitor. Merry Christmas! T’S EASY to get swept along by the stress and pressures that rear their heads at this time of the year. Fortunately, Christmas Eve provides us with our list. Whatever Gorbachev's ultimate fate, there’s still the Christmas tree to be bought and trimmed. Whatever Michael Wilson plans to steal from us, we still have to figure out how many pounds of turkey are needed. Regardless of interest rates, abortion battles and greedy real estate barons Christmas still brings its rich round of special entertain- ment, special treats for children and seniors, special fund drives to help the disadvantaged. It still brings greetings from dis- tant friends, beloved songs and music, and the happy Christmas miorning chaos of discarded gift- wraps littering the living room. And even today it still brings crowded churches throughout the land at midnight on Dec. 24. In a word, Christmas is nostalgia. And despite its modern commercialism, bemoaned by many, it is nostalgia of the most valuable kind. A yearly guidepost, permanent and indestructible, which helps us move forward with confidence — knowing that whatever the future brings, the timeless festivai will always be there to reassure us. Age-old Christmas needs nothing NEW co be said about it. That's precisely why we cherish it so much. WRIGHT FROM THE HEART: May happy hours with loved ones and friends warm your Christmas days and enrich your year ahead with precious new memories. the opportunity to sit back, relax and contemplate some no-cost, low-pressure ways to make the holiday merricr. Here are some ideas — perhaps readers can add to them with ideas of their own. Phone an old school friend or someone you haven't talked to for years. Offer an olive branch and resolve a fend. Try to make sure any loved ones who weren't able to make it home for the holidays this year aren't feeling guilty. Help the Christmas dinner chef with the preparation and clean-up. Take the family for a walk. Put out some seed for the birds and some peanuts for the squirrels. Save your gift wrap to be re-used next year. Wave to passing bus drivers and any others who have to be at work on Christmas Day. Spend an hour or two playing with your grandchildren and their sew toys. Have dinner by candlelight and read Christmas stories by the fireplace. If you're on your own for Christmas, consider visiting friends or helping serve at one of the Christmas dinners for the needy. Above all, enjoy all of the festivities that the season offers, and forgive any of your everindujyences — a new decade and a fresh start await. Merrs Christmas from all of us at the North Shore News! NEWS photo Paul McGrath IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT...the Royal Canadian Legion (branch 114) recently presented a $2,500 cheque to the North Shore Intermediate Care Society for the society's Alzheimer’s Moon Garden. Pictured at the cheque presentation ceremony are (left to right) service officer Cliff Lowe, branch 114 representative to the Cedarview Intermediate Care Facility and chairperson of the Residents Care Committee Doris McManus, society vice-president Dolly Cartwright and society treasurer Kim MeCondach. 980-0511 986-6222 995-2131 986-1337 986.1337 385.3207 Distlay Agvarysing Classified Advertsing Neacroom Peter Speck Managing Editor Barrett Fisher Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Director Linda Stewarl North Shore News, subL Publisher SUNDAY WIBMESDOD 6 OMIA ta Lomnciile Ayetturs mee eC MEMBER aed brite content 1460 Nort Snare & Ltd AN regnts PoE Re cenpent Tes Worn nore Cree eee