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 DG
Bernie's Weekly Message
The Man
Who Hated Christmas
Welcome
to the first edition of our Town & Country Weekly Newsletter for calendar year 2007.
Margaret and I hope that you have all enjoyed a peaceful and happy
Christmas and are still abiding by all those New Year resolutions that
you have made.
Before
the memory of Christmas
fades
away I would like to leave you with the following story. This is the
story of the man who hated Christmas. I came upon this some time ago,
from where I do not know, but it touched me like I hope it will touch
you.
It was
just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of the Christmas
tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It had peeked through
the branches for the last ten years or so.
Mike
was the Dad in the family and it all began because Mike hated Christmas.
Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it.
The overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a
tie for Uncle Harry and the Talcum Powder for Grandma, gifts given in
desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. Knowing that he
felt this way, Mike's wife, Nancy wanted to get something special just
for Mike this Christmas. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Mike
and Nancy had three sons. Their son Kevin was 12 that year. Shortly
before Christmas, the school he attended arranged an end of year
sporting match with a team sponsored by a church across town. Kevin's
team turned up with their coach, their new equipment and neat sporting
outfits. The other team were a ragtag lot in motley outfits and no
proper gear.
Kevin's
team thrashed them. Mike shook his head sadly. "I wish they could have
done better. They have the potential but losing like this could take the
heart out of them".
Mike
loved kids and he knew them having coached a number of junior teams over
the years. That's when the idea for the present came. That afternoon,
Nancy went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of
sporting gear and sent it anonymously to the church who arranged the
other team.
On
Christmas Eve, Nancy placed an envelope on the tree, the note inside
telling Mike what she had done, and that was Mike's gift from Nancy.
Mike's smile was the brightest thing about Christmas in that family that
year and in succeeding years and for each Christmas, Nancy followed the
tradition, one year sending a group of disabled children to a show,
another, a cheque to a family whose home had burnt down a week before
Christmas - and so on.
The
envelope became the highlight of Christmas in that house. It was always
the last thing opened on Christmas morning and the children, ignoring
their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their Dad
lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the
children grew up, the toys gave way to more practical presents but the
envelope never lost its allure.
The
story doesn't end there. Then came the year that Mike died from cancer.
Nancy was still so wrapped in grief that she barely got the tree up. But
Christmas Eve found her placing an envelope on the tree and in the
morning it was joined by three more. Each of the boys, unbeknown to the
others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their Dad.
The
tradition has grown and some day will expand even further when
grandchildren, standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation,
will watch as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's
spirit, like the spirit of Christmas, will be always with them.
What
did you do at Christmas time for someone completely outside your circle?
Surely you could think of at least one person in real need?
I hope
that we can all take inspiration from this story and use it to remind
ourselves of what we can do to Lead the Way in 2007
Bernie
Walshe
District
Governor
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