34 Years of Christmas Poems: 1996

This poem is a marker to me in the middle of astounding changes. This will represent a high point, no doubt, in a year where a major "hole in my soul" was addressed.

As I have written before, my father and I were estranged (to put it mildly) since 1977; we're talking two decades. The unfortunate event that precipitated the shift was the death of my younger brother and only sibling at 36 years old during 1996. My mother was devastated. My father and his family were there at the services and the sorrow and tension was as thick as you might imagine. Somehow, we all got through it all (although it took additional years of of my mother's life.)

I chose to attempt a reparation with my father. To say that I had to choose between darkness and fear is an accurate statement. I did all in my power to evaporate the fear and somehow, it worked. A letter led to a meeting and the start of healing that continues to this day. I'm traveling to Florida tomorrow to spend four days with him.

The poem is again all about conscious choice and celebrating the journey. It remains the single most important theme to me today. For someone who was "destination focused," the move to embrace the journey is more important and precious than I can express.

I'm making tonight's entry on a netbook so I can continue during my Florida trip. Let's see if all goes well.

Christmas 1996
by
Richard Perrotti


Through a child’s eye, the world looms so large
Filled with wondrous, magical sights.
The child, now grown, has a quite different view,
So how can both visions be right?

We live in a place of illusion
That tends to our own beck and call.
It allows us to see things however we choose
And perceive them to be great or small.

The power of that choice is stupendous
As you shape your world by that view.
So consider in this holiday season
That your Christmas is a reflection of you.

You’ll find no light by examining darkness
Regardless of old thoughts you employ.
To truly share the joy of this season,
You must first let yourself feels that joy.

View your life from a state of abundance
Filled with love, praise and gratitude.
Perceive that you are deprived of nothing
And bless the world with that attitude.

The great sign of Christmas is a wondrous star,
Blazing bright in the night sky so deep.
Spread its light with the love, praise and gratitude you sow
And amaze at the world you will reap.

December 1996; 3 years to the Millennium:
1st - 85th Davis Cup: France beats Sweden in Malmo (3-2)
1st - Lance Klusener takes 8-64 in debut Test Cricket to trounce India
4th - 7th Billboard Music Awards
4th - NASA's 1st Mars rover launched from Cape Canaveral
4th - Orlando Magic tie NBA record of fewest ponts scored since inception of 24 second clock losing to Cleveland Cavalier, 84-57
5th - "Dreams & Nightmares," opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
5th - Players union approves new collective bargaining agreement
5th - Portland's Jermaine O'Neal, 18, becomes youngest NBA player
6th - Mashonaland defeat England in first-class tour match
7th - Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), lands
8th - "God Said, Ha!" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 22 performances
8th - Donna Andrews & Mike Hulbert win LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
10th - Rwandan Genocide: Military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations Maurice Baril recommends that the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down.
12th - Assassination attempt on Uday (Iraqi's heir to Sadam Hussain)
12th - Marlins sign their 6th free-agent since Nov 22, Moises Alou
13th - Free agent Roger Clemens signs with Toronto Blue Jays
13th - Kofi Annan is elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
14th - 12th Soap Opera Digest Awards
14th - 62nd Heisman Trophy Award: Danny Wuerffel, Florida (QB)
15th - Dottie Pepper & Juli Inkster win LPGA Diner's Club Golf Matches
15th - Jim Colbert & Bob Murphy wins Diner's Club Senior PGA Golf Matches
15th - Tom Lehman & Duffy Waldoff wins Diner's Club PGA Golf Matches
18th - Start of 1st Test Cricket match between Zimbabwe & England
18th - TV industry execs agree to adopt a ratings system
18th - The Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring "Ebonics" a language or dialect.
19th - "Once Upon a Matress," opens at Broadhurst NYC for 187 performances
21st - Pakistan all out 67 to lose to Tasmania by an inning
22nd - Steelers' Kordell Stewart runs quarterback record 80 yds for TD
22nd - Wendy's Three Tour Golf Challenge
22nd - Zimbabwe & England draw Bulawayo Test Cricket with Eng need 1 to win
23rd - 4 women ordained priests in Jamaica, 1st in 330-year Anglican history
26th - Start of the largest strike in South Korean history.
26th - The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification goes into force.
26th - Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.
27th - Carquest Bowl 7: Miami beats Virginia, 31-21
27th - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
28th - India all out for 66 at Durban after making 100 in cricket 1st inning
29th - "Dreams & Nightmares" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC
29th - "Skylight" closes at Royale Theater NYC after
29th - "Taking Sides" closes at Atkinson Theater NYC
30th - Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.