Christmas Star

December 24, 2007:0615 hrs
Well just looking at the early pre-dawn sky i was this Monday morning. And what did i see but the planet Venus heralding the arrival of the rising Sun returning from it's Winter Solstice. Like the ancient story of the wise men following "a Star" there i was looking East by South-East. Had i been on the equator it probably would have been due East. So art imitates life and what sounds almost impossible actually happens. Merry Christmas and, like the wise man says, "we don't have to know everything", we can believe in something greater. God's love for us is real and this magical celestial sign reminds us of that. Merry Christmas! Punch

The Year 2007:Started at the Tournament of Roses Parade, our first, and what a majestic spectacle with 500 Stormtroopers marching down Colorado Ave! A family ski trip to Tamarack, ID followed in March, a favorite month for us, bringing birthday tidings for both our boys. Garrick is having a great senior year at New Roads HS, preparing for a good track season in 2008. Fleet of foot and confident in spirit, he looks forward with excitement and anticipation to running for his college team: location to be determined. Jack is thriving in his second year at Will Rogers (Elementary) and was singled out for being the # 1 reader in both class and (1st) grade, due to his high minute count for the read-a-thon, which is likened to “sweeps” for booklovers. Shelly is the Den Mother of Jack’s new Cub Scout pack and our Fall Campout in the hills next to Will Rogers Park in Palisades Canyon at Camp Josepho, a famous haunt for many generations of scouts, was a late Fall highlight. Summer brought another visit to Camp Lejeune; time on-base and golf course with Marines of all rank and file. Unless one knows these Warriors it is easy to marginalize their business, but many are truly awe inspiring individuals. Our friends from Utah (TigerLight family), and U.K. (British-American Business Council), kept us busy producing infomercial spots and golf tournaments, labors of love for sure! The CBS network provided parts in episodes of two of their finer shows, The Unit and Criminal Minds, which made for a nice reunion with a friend from early career days, at Universal (Dennis Haysbert from Buck Rogers, with Wilfrid as Dr. Goodfellow). Hardly a day goes by without a reminder of my father, and I only hope my boys some day say the same. Our new dramatic arts program at First Pres (Santa Monica) got off to a great start with a production of Thornton Wilder’s lost one-act The Happy Journey and we look forward to tackling Yeats’s The Resurrection this coming Easter. Jack and his friends participate regularly in programs and Shelly is the toddler program teacher on Sundays and sometimes during the week.

There seems much to be uncertain about: Are we melting? Are our friends really our enemies? What to watch, CNN or Fox? —as if it made a difference! It’s easy to let our small cultural, political or class differences cloud the simple realization that the greatest mystery is not what we do with our time here, but how we got the chance in the first place and what gifts can we leave for others to open. One certainty, easy to overlook, is the reason for the season. A prime mystery to ponder, the Christian story of the Virgin birth surely changed the world. Many believe that it still can. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday! Worship (transitive verb to love or respect something unquestioningly) and find joy. p.s. Give Microsoft Word 2007, a try. It’s worth the learning curve!