Medford mail tribune., December 25, 1960, Image 36

Twas the Jest Before Christmas
-WiStQZ.
By PAUL STEINER ILLUSTRATION BY ED MALSBERG
"Christmas," says Ken Murray, "is the time when a girl
'.likes her past forgotten and her present remembered."
"I feel kind of embarrassed," Herb Shriner admits. "I got
a Christmas card from the gas company, and I didn't send
them one."
On the subject of unannounced holiday guests, Hoosier
Herb has this to say: "My folks didn't mind having more
guests at Christmas than expected. They'd just put more
stuffing in the turkey."
Columnist Robert Sylvester advises: "Anybody who wants
to buy me an expensive present can bear one thing in mind
I'm the man who has nothing."
Red Skelton has an electrician as a neighbor: "He
gave all his friends shorts for Christmas."
Columnist Earl Wilson figured out why Santa Claus car
ried that bag of gifts around with him: "Have you seen
those long lines at the post office?"
A financial note from Bob Hope: "The hanks of the
country are in quite a predicament it's time to pay off
millionaire J. Paul Getty's Christmas Club money."
"It was just our luck," Amos 'n' Andy complained, "to
bring home the only yule log in the woods with a skunk
inside it."
Vaughn Monroe says, "Christmas is the season when
your neighbor's radio keeps you up till 4 a.m. playing
'Silent Night.' "
Robert Q. Lewis' definition of a department-store detec
tive: "A counter-spy."
"Family tics are closer at Christmas louder, too,"
says restaurateur INicky Blair.
Columnist Neal O'Hara muses: "Turkeys now come with
instructions, but the do-it-yourself age hasn't produced a
bird with built-in dotted lines to guide the carver."
"Men do strange things," says singer Marion Marlowe.
"They buy their football tickets in June and their wives'
Christmas presents Dec. 21."
Once upon a time, my little Paul, a Baby only
half as big as you are now was born in a
stable. Kings brought Him presents and a bright
star shone over His head. The poor people came to
see Him, too, and even the animals there in the
stable knew it was His birthday.
All of them the kings, the poor people, and the
animals had been told a wonderful secret about
the little boy, so His parents couldn't just love Him
and play with Him as yours do. They had to take
special care of Him always and hide Him away
from a wicked king.
Pretty soon the little boy began to grow up. He
didn't go to school as you will because He knew
more than all the teachers and sometimes He told
them about the things He had learned.
And then, like the stories in your storybooks,
when He was old enough, He set out to seek His
fortune. But He wasn't looking for gold and a
crown. Part of the wonderful secret was that He
was a prince in disguise and part of it was that
the star brought Him to tell all the people how to
love one another and say their prayers every day
and be kind to the birds and animals and flowers.
He never had much money and sometimes He
had nothing to eat Sometimes His clothes were
Family Weekly. December IS. I960
ragged and His feet were hurt from walking- the
world to tell His story. But everywhere He went
people saw the starlight on His face, and they
began to try to live the way He wanted them to
good and honest and loving. And the world began
to be better.
One day, Paul, you will go out into the world,
too, and be a doctor like your father or a carpenter
like His father. If you remember the story of the
stable, it will be easier for you.
Well, when He was no older than your father,
evil men captured Him and people who were too
deaf to hear Him and too blind to see the starlight
decided to make Him die.
Do you know what He did then? He forgave all
of them, the evil men, the people who were deaf,
and the people who were blind, and nothing they
could do harmed Him.
He was born a little boy like you, but He never
died. And you won't either, really, because He
told the people that love and kindness and under
standing are stronger than death. And they are.
Isn't that a wonderful story? Here's the best
part of all: every word of it is true.
So good night, little Paul, child of God.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
1 I V- - r I " r - J
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK WOOLHISER