34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1993

These next few years are a period in my life where I was preparing to to "descend into madness." Certainly didn't know it then but from the perspective of now, it seems fairly obvious to me.

The spiritual studies deepened as I delved into "A Course In Miracles." For me, this was an intense period as I was holding onto a considerable amount of anger within. It took a long time for me to even consider the forgiveness work contained within ACIM. I was "appreciative" of the help of my friends and guidance I was receiving. That's in quotes because I'm sure there were times that I must have been toxic to be around. Even though we are not together today, I still feel love and appreciation for them and what we shared.

As I read the '93 poem, there are no historical "outside" references at all; it's a 100% "inside job" of what I was going through then and for some time afterwards. It is still perfectly applicable today. I'm just a lot more willing to embrace the concept and be easy about it.

Christmas 1993

by

Richard Perrotti

What’s in a gift when you open it up

After shredding the wrapping and bows?

Is it joy and surprise at a well-thought out prize

Or “Gee, thanks. I need one of those.”

The gifts we remember from Christmas

Aren’t items so special or rare.

It’s the ones from the heart of our loved ones

And the warmth of the feelings they share.

But sometimes we feel people hurt us

And the pain takes on life of its own.

Nurtured and held in our memories,

‘till into a monster it’s grown.

How it hurts to hang on to old hatred,

And to keep it alive at all cost.

For the light you invest in that darkness

Is the light in your life that you’ve lost.

Reclaim your true spirit this Christmas

By giving a gift true and fine.

Give yourself the gift of forgiveness,

For remember, to forgive is divine.

The symbol of this joyous season

Is the light from a star high above.

Be kind to yourself and your brothers

And light up the world with your love.

December 1993 events:
1st - Northwest Airlink plane crashes in Minn, killing 18
2nd - A Websters musical "Sunset Promenade" premieres in LA
2nd - Dow-Jones hits record 3702.11
2nd - Houston Rockets tie NBA record of 15-0 start
2nd - Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5), launches
4th - Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.92 sec)
4th - Johann Koss skates world record 5K (6:35.53)
4th - A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.
5th - "Timon of Athens" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 37 performances
5th - 82nd Davis Cup: Germany beats Australia in Dusseldorf (4-1)
5th - Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space
5th - Melissa Mcnamara/Mike Sopringer wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
5th - Newhart actor William Sanderson (47) weds Sharon Wix (39)
5th - Rafael Caldera elected president of Venezuela
5th - The mayor of Wien (Vienna), Helmut Zilk, is wounded by a letter bomb.
6th - Gunda Niemann skates ladies world record 5 km 7:13.29
7th - Henri Konan Bedie names himself President of Ivory coast
7th - Robert Goulet undergoes prostate cancer surgery
7th - The Long Island Rail Road massacre: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.
8th - 30 killed at religious rebellion in Algeria
8th - 4th Billboard Music Awards
8th - Dow-Jones hits record 3734.53
8th - Storm hits West Europe, 11 killed in England
9th - "My Fair Lady" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 165 performances
9th - Ivory Coast Premier Ouattara resigns
10th - Dow Jones hits record 3740.67
11th - 59th Heisman Trophy Award: Charlie Ward, Florida State (QB)
11th - Eduardo Frei elected president of Chile
12th - "Any Given Day" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 32 performances
12th - "Kentucky Cycle" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 34 performances
12th - WAQX 104.3 (Q-104) rock format replaces WNCN classic format in NYC
13th - Deadline for Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, they don't
13th - Dow Jones hits record 3764.43
13th - Fire in textile factory in Fuzjou China, 60 killed
13th - Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5), lands
14th - Moslem fundamentalists murder 12 Kroates/Bosnians in Algeria
15th - C-130 flies into a Philippines hill & explodes, 16 killed
15th - Haitian premier Robert Malval resigns
15th - John Williams final appearance as conductor of Boston Pops
15th - Lee Aspen resigns as secretary of defense
15th - Y-12 crashes at Phonesavanh, Laos: 18 killed
15th - British premier Major/Irish premier Reynolds signs Downing Street Declaration concerning Northern Ireland self determination
16th - "Red Shoes" opens at Gershwin Theater NYC for 5 performances
16th - Shannen Doherty (Brenda) is fired from Beverly Hills 90210
17th - Bangladesh moslem call for murder of feminist Taslima Nasrin
17th - Kevin Scott skates world record 1000 m (1:12.54)
17th - Northern Exposure star Barry Corbin falls off his horse
17th - Tennis star Boris Becker (26) weds Barbara Feltus (27)
18th - Kevin Scott skates world record 1K (1:12.54)
19th - "Red Shoes" closes at Gershwin Theater NYC after 5 performances
19th - Guinee general Lansana re-elected president
20th - Donald Trump weds Marla Maples
26th - Antonov-26 crashes at Gyumri, Armenia, 36 killed
26th - Comedian Rodney Dangerfield (72) weds Joan Child (41)
26th - Floyd, Nicklaus & Rodriguez wins Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge Golf Tourn
27th - "Candles, Snow, & Mistletoe" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 7 perfs
27th - Actress Teri Garr (44) weds John O'Neil (42)
27th - Dow-Jones hits record 3792.93
28th - Dow-Jones hits record 3793.49
28th - Dutch Antilles government of Yandi Paula forms
28th - John Maclean passes Kirk Muller as all-time NJ Devils scorer (521 pts)
29th - Courtney Love sues doctors for leaking news of her methadone treatment
29th - Todd Bridges arrested for transporting methamphetamine (speed)
30th - "Candles, Snow, & Mistletoe" closes at Palace NYC after 7 perfs
30th - Singer Deni Hines (22) weds INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly (35)
30th - Vatican recognizes Israel
31st - Barbra Striesand does her 1st live public concert in 20 years
31st - Loveboat actress Jill Whelan (27) weds Brad St John (33)

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1992

The poem this year had a very simple, very direct theme; choice.

So many people were caught up in the frantic whirl of the holidays, stressing about all that "must" be done and descending into various degrees of unhappiness. Others, going with the flow, enjoyed the energetic rush and never seemed to get fazed. When I asked what was the difference between the two points of view, the simple answer that came up was "It is what you choose it to be." Straightforward, direct and to the point.

And by the way, I was one of those stressing; I was all over this one. My wife, several close friends and I were immersed in spiritual studies during an almost fifteen year period which included a close friend who was a channel for spirit. (Yes, I needed great convincing that it was real. You'll have to take my word; it was.) When I asked about why things were turning out in ways that I didn't like, I was told it was because of what I chose to remember and focus upon. I gradually understood what that meant and the real power behind it. That is the focus of this particular poem.

One historical reference sneaks in in the first line. Bill Clinton had just been elected President in 1992 and a great part of his campaign was "I still believe in a place called Hope." He was born in Hope, Arkansas and that played perfectly as the first note for this theme.

Christmas 1992

by

Richard Perrotti

Some may come from a place called Hope;

All start from a place called love.

While the memory may fade on the journey,

Our home ever beckons above.

We often get lost during everyday life,

Pausing later to mourn what we lack.

But our calendar is rigged with some “roadblocks,”

To help us get back aboard track.

Holidays march on, to a ruthless degree,

Overtaking mun-daily routine.

And the end of the year brings “The Big One,”

There’s just no avoiding that scene.

You can go with the flow and enjoy it,

Or sullenly sit and lament,

That this annual show, starring “Brotherhood,”

Is some made-for-TV event.

Get beyond the glitz and glamour,

Give yourself some room to rejoice.

Despite the confusion that surrounds you,

Remembering remains as your choice.

Go beyond to find the true meaning,

Hidden deep in your memory’s shelf.

Going beyond Christmas to that place called love,

Is coming home… to yourself.

December 1992 doings:
1st - 2 C-141B Starlifters collide in Montana & crash, 13 die
1st - Amy Fisher sentenced 5-15 yrs for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco
2nd - WQEW-AM radio replaces WQXR on 1560 in NYC
3rd - UN Security Council votes unanimous for US led forces to enter Somalia
3rd - The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.
4th - Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.
6th - 300,000 hindus destroy mosque of Babri India, 4 die
6th - 81st Davis Cup: USA beats Switzerland in Fort Worth (3-1)
6th - Dottie Mochrie/Dan Forsmann wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
6th - SF 49er Jerry Rice catches NFL record 101st touchdown
6th - SF Giants renig on $43 million pact with Barry Bonds
7th - Galileo spacecraft passes North Pole of Moon (Peary Crater)
8th - Galileo's nearest approach to Jupiter (303 km)
8th - NBC announces that "Cheers" will go off the air in May, 1993
9th - 3rd Billboard Music Awards
9th - Cin Red owner Marge Schott apologizes for racist remarks
9th - Operation Restore Hope - US Marines land in Somalia
9th - Sri Lanka's third-ever Test Cricket victory (v NZ by 9 wkts)
9th - NJ Devils organization announces that it will change its colors to black, red, & white for the 1992-93 season
10th - "My Favorite Year" opens at Vivian Beaumont Theater NYC for 37 perfs
10th - NHL awards franchises to Miami & Anaheim (for 1994-95)
10th - NY Yankees sign free agent pitcher Jimmy Key
10th - Orlanda Magic scores 14 3-pointers (2 shy of record)
11th - Nor'easter storm hits NY, doing $ Billion worth of damage
11th - WNEW AM radio on 1130 in NYC ends transmitting after 58 years
12th - 58th Heisman Trophy Award: Gino Torretta, Miami-Fla (QB)
12th - 6.8-7.5 earthquake strikes Flores Island (tsunami kills 3,000)
12th - Japanese crown prince Naruhito announces engagement to Masaka Owada
12th - Julia Kurotchkina, 18, of Russia, crowned 42nd Miss World
12th - NY Giants lose 19-0 to Phoenix Cardinals
13th - "Show Off" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 45 performances
13th - Dawn Coe-Jone wins Pizza-La LPGA Match Play Golf Championship
13th - FCC fines Infinity Broadcasting $600,000
14th - Lennox Lewis given WBC title, when Riddick Bowe refused to fight him
15th - Arthur Ashe is named Sports Illustrated Sportman of Year
15th - WNEW AM (1130) NYC resigns air, replaced by WBBR
17th - "Christmas Carol" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 22 performances
17th - Gen Suwa finds tooth of 4.4 million year old Australopithecus ramidus
18th - FCC vote 4-1 to allow Infinity to purchase Cook Inlet stations
20th - Northwest & KLM introduce a new joint logo "Worldwide Reliability"
20th - Slobodan Milosevic re-elected president of Serbia
21st - Dutch DC-10 in fire at landing on Faro Portugal, 56 die
22nd - Libyan MIG-23UB attacks Boeing 727 at Souk al-Sabt, 158 die
24th - Pres Bush pardons Caspar Weinberger of Iran-contra affair
26th - NY Jet announcer Marty Glickman retires at 75
27th - "3 From Brooklyn" closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 45 perfs
27th - "Les Miserables" opens at Ostregaswerks, Copenhagen
27th - "Tommy Tune Tonite! Song & Dance Act" opens at Gershwin NYC for 10 per
27th - 13th United Negro College Fund raises $11,000,000
27th - Harry Connick Jr is caught with 9mm gun in NY's JFK airport
27th - Nancy Sheehan wins LPGA Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge Golf Tournament
29th - Gov Cuomo grants Jean Harris (Scarsdale Diet Dr killer) clemency
30th - Last day of Test Cricket for Michael Whitney
30th - Shane Warne takes 7-52 to lead Australian MCG win v West Indies
31st - Target date for Europe's single market
31st - WCBS TV news anchor Carol Martin weds Joe Terry

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1991

This year's version is a throwback in several ways. First of all, look at the original poem itself; typewritten on plain white paper, a relic in the rapidly evolving PC age. If I remember correctly, we had sold the Mac and were in between computers. This would explain the format of the poem. Also of tech note, a "little company" called AOL was in it's volcanic growth phase during this and the next several years. (Remember the endless CD's in the mail trying to get you into the club?) I do remember in the early days they actually signed off at 1 a.m.. Welcome to the gated internet, kids!

As for the poem itself, guess what America and much of the world was mired in? If you guessed "recession," give yourself a prize. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_1990s_recession) It was bad and the Gulf War (yes, the early 90's had one of those too) added to it as the retreating Iraqi army left Kuwait's oil field in flames. Worldwide oil prices skyrocketed and already faltering economies tanked even further.

The "thousand points of light" reference is from George H.W. Bush's inaugural address. It became a lightning rod for criticism and the social safety net continued to get slashed. Amazing how things that "go 'round, come 'round," isn't it? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_points_of_light)

The hostage event that I reference happened just before I wrote the poem. On December 4, 1991, journalist Terry Anderson was freed in Lebanon by the Hezbollah terrorist organization after 2,454 days in captivity, six and one-half years. It needed to be captured in verse. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hostage-terry-anderson-freed-in-lebanon)

There was a tone of "hopeful despair" in America that Christmas as shoppers were being exhorted to rally to retail and "spend, spend, spend" to revive the economy. That was really the overriding arch of this time. I tried to lampoon it a bit and remind those reading what the true currency of Christmas truly was.

Again, sounds familiar, wouldn't you say?

Christmas 1991

by

Richard Perrotti

“Bye-bye,” said the child to Santa

as she slid off his fuzzy red lap.

Her wishes and dreams had been noted

And most, in fact, already wrapped.

“Please buy!” was the cry of the merchants

as their registers lacked the old jingle.

If things didn’t improve they would have to

Stop payment on the check to “K. Kringle.”

“By and by,” was the answer the President gave

when asked if things would get better.

“But you’re all points of light on these holiday nights,

so let’s all give the homeless a sweater.”

“Good bye, you are free,” said the terrorist,

as the hostage was released that same night.

“Tell the world of Allah’s Christmas present

and that in His great name, we are right!”

We all buy and sell every Christmas

Swapping sweat and time and deeds.

Planting memories that last but a lifetime,

Hoping one will bring forth a good seed.

Yes, this season is one huge transaction

But it’s not just money that gets rearranged.

For love’s the true currency of Christmas

And the best part is keeping the change.

December 1991 (note the final entry; Hell freezes over from my perspective)

1st - "Moscow Circus Cirk Valentin" closes at Gershwin NYC after 32 perfs
1st - "Once on this Island" closes at Booth Theater NYC after 469 perfs
1st - 80th Davis Cup: France beats USA in Lyon (3-1)
1st - AIDS awareness day
1st - Colorado party wins Paraguay parliamentary election
1st - Nursultan Nazarbayev sworn in as president of Kazakhstan
1st - US 75th manned space mission "STS 44" Atlantis 10 lands
1st - Ukrainian people vote for independence
2nd - Bobby Bonilla signs record $29 million-5 year pact with NY Mets
2nd - Muslim Shites release American held in Lebanon hostage Joseph Cicippio
3rd - Hulk Hogan defeats Undertaker to become 4th time WWF champion
3rd - Muslim Shites release US hostage Alan Steen
3rd - White House Chief of Staff John Sununu resigns
4th - Judds final concert (Nashville)
4th - Muslim Shites release last US hostage Terry Anderson (held 6½ years)
4th - Pan American World Airways ceased operations
4th - Patricia Bowman testifies that William Kennedy Smith raped her
5th - "Catskills on Broadway" opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 452 perfs
5th - Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty
5th - NY Daily News files for protection under chapter 11
6th - "Les Miserables" opens at Circustheater, Scheveningen
6th - "Star Trek VI-Undiscovered Country" premieres
7th - A J Kitt, US, wins World Skiing Cup
8th - "Homecoming" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 49 performances
8th - "Nick & Nora" opens at Marquis Theater NYC for 9 performances
8th - Kris Tschetter/Billy Andrade wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
8th - Russia, Belorussia & Ukraine form Commonwealth of Ind States
8th - The Romanian Constitution is adopted in a referendum.
9th - 2nd Billboard Music Awards
10th - "Crucible" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 32 performances
10th - IM Pei receives $5 million for design of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
10th - Jackie Martling walks off of Howard Stern show for 1 day
10th - Howard Spira sentenced to 2½ years in prison for trying to extort money from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
11th - William Kennedy Smith found not guilty of rape
12th - Actor Richard Gere marries super model Cindy Crawford
12th - Maastricht Treaty signed to create a European Community
12th - NJ Nets set NBA record of 22 blocks beating Nuggets 121-81
12th - Orion Pictures filed Chapter 11 for bankruptcy protection
12th - Tampa Bay Bucaneer Dexter Manley, retires after failing drug test
13th - Both Koreas sign an accord calling for reconcilliation
13th - NY assembly speaker Mel Miller is convicted of federal mail fraud
13th - Ricky Pierce (Seattle) ends NBA free throw streak of 75 games
14th - 57th Heisman Trophy Award: Desmond Howard, Michigan (WR)
14th - Ferry boat Salem Express sinks in Red Sea, 476 killed
15th - "Nick & Nora" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 9 performances
15th - Deb Richard wins JBP Cup LPGA Match Play Golf Championship
16th - Fla Marlins sign their 1st player, 16 year old pitcher Clemente Nunez
16th - UN reverses ruling that Zionism is racism by 111-25 (13 abstain) vote
16th - Independence of The Republic of Kazakhstan.
17th - Cleveland Cavaliers beat Miami Heat 148-80, by record 68 pts
17th - NBA's most lopsided game Cleveland beats Miami 148-80
17th - Patrick Manning becomes premier of Trinidad & Tobago
17th - Soap opera "One Life To Live" airs its 6,000th episode
18th - DeForest Kelly (Dr McCoy on Star Trek) gets a star in Hollywood
18th - General Motors announces closing of 21 plants
19th - "Christmas Carol" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 14 perfs
19th - 6,000th episode of One Life To Live
19th - Boris Yeltsin takes control of Kremlin
19th - NY Yankee pitcher Steve Howe arrested for cocaine possession
20th - NHL grants permanent membership to Tampa Lightning & Ottawa Senators
20th - Paul Keating installed as premier of Australia
20th - A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
21st - 95 share in Madrid Spain $1.3 billion lottery (#47996)
21st - El Sayid Nosair acquitted of killing Meir Kahane
21st - US actress Jane Fonda marries CNN-director Ted Turner
21st - Soviet Union formally dissolves 11 of 12 republics sign treaty forming Commonwealth of Independent States
23rd - NY Daily News publisher Kevin Maxwell resigns
24th - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of Soviet Union
25th - Last day of a washout Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Gujranwala
25th - Mikhail Gorbachev formally resigned as President of USSR
26th - Chuck Knolls retires as NFL coach after 23 years
26th - Jack Ruby's gun sells for $220,000 in auction
26th - Militant Sikhs kill 55 & wound 70 in India
26th - NY Islander Derek King ties NJ Devils 5-5 with ½ second left
27th - "Carol Burnett Show" last airs on CBS-TV
27th - Bengals hire Dave Shula as youngest NFL coach (32)
27th - Chuck Knox retires as Seattle Seahawk coach
28th - 8 are crushed to death at a RAP basketball game at City College, NYC
28th - Blockbuster Bowl 2: Alabama beats Colorado, 30-25
28th - Irene the Icon of Greek Orthodox church returns after being stolen
28th - Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiminez, 20, of Venez, crowned 41st Miss World
28th - Ted Turner is named Time Magazine Man of Year
29th - "Christmas Carol" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 14 perfs
29th - 12th United Negro College Fund
29th - Boeing 747-200F of China Airlines crash into mountain at Taipei
31st - CPN, Communist Party of Netherland, last day of existance
31st - Daniel R McCarthy elected NY Yankee managing general partner
31st - Dow Jones closes at record high 3168.83
31st - J Donald Crump resigned as CFL Commissioner
31st - USSR, last day of existence

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1990

This was the year it was going to end. It was three days before Christmas and I hadn't had one inkling of what to write nor the time to write it. It was over, done, a wrap.

We had purchased a brand new home and moved in in September. Naturally (and while still living out of unpacked boxes in many cases) you go for the "grand slam" and decorate like there's no tomorrow and take upon the entire family dinner/entertaining for the holidays. You see just how far you can ratchet up both the "joy" and "stress" factors without cracking. I believe this is another necessary stage in the rites of passage.

It was only when the cards started to come in, most with a comment like "Can't wait to see this year's poem" that the pressure started to really build. Naturally, that makes it worse. But in one tortured, marathon session, these frenzied, truthful six verses emerged. The relief was palpable. No fancy layout this time; just get it in the Mac and spit it out on paper. The tradition continued and the years spun on.

Christmas 1990

by

Richard Perrotti

This year, because we bought a home,

There will not be a Christmas poem.

No carols to sing nor egg to nog;

No firing up the old Yule log.

I’ve been so busy! I have no time

To sit and commit my thoughts to rhyme.

Amid this whirlwind, I do despair,

My Christmas spirit is just not there.

“So, where is the poem?” I kept getting asked

by everyone far and wide.

And when I told them my story,

They all kind of smiled and sighed.

“It’s really quite sad,” they told me,

“how traditions eventually end.”

And as I was hearing just how much it meant,

I started to get the feeling again.

It just took everyone to remind me

That Christmas still comes from within.

And the spirit that warms us and guides us

Needs nurturing in order to begin.

So here I sit writing this story

by the fireplace in our new home.

And I smile in amazement as I finish.

Well, what do you know… a Christmas poem!

December 1990, T minus 10 years to the Millennium:
1st - 56th Heisman Trophy Award: Ty Detmer, Brigham Young (QB)
1st - British & French workers meet in English Channel's tunnel (Chunnel)
1st - Hissène Habré of Chad flees to Cameroon
1st - Iraq accepts Bush's offer for talks
1st - Lithuania, Estonia & Latvia hold their 1st joint session
1st - NY Knicks Patrick Ewing scores 50 points beating Charlotte 113-96
2nd - 1st parlimentary election in newly reunified Germany
2nd - 1st time 12 people in space
2nd - 79th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in St Petersburg (3-2)
2nd - Beth Daniel/Davis Love wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
2nd - US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) launches into orbit
3rd - NL batting champ Willie McGee signs as a free agent with SF Giants
4th - Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in NYC
4th - Iraq announces it will release all 3,300 Soviet hostages
5th - Blue Jays trade F McGriff & T Fernandez to SD for R Alomar & J Carter
5th - Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty
5th - Salman Rushdie, author, ordered to death by Iran for blasphemy, appears in public for 1st time in 2 years
6th - NHL grants conditional membership to Tampa Bay Lightning
6th - Saddam anounces release of all foriegn hostages
6th - Shoeless Joe Jackson's signature is sold for $23,100
7th - Iraqi parliment endorses Saddam's decision to free hostages
7th - Ted Turner & Jane Fonda announce their engagement
8th - Galileo Earth-1 Flyby
8th - Indians agree to a lease new ballpark in Gateway (Jacobs Field)
9th - Betsy King wins Itoman LPGA World Match Play Golf Championship
9th - Gunda Niemann skates ladies world record 3k ladies (4:10.80)
9th - Houston scores most points against Cleveland, Oilers 58, Browns 14
9th - Lech Walesa wins presidental election in Poland
9th - NFL NY Giant Otis Anderson becomes 8th to rush for 10,000th yard
10th - Hindu-Muslim rebellion in Hyderabad-Aligargh India, 140 die
10th - Soyuz TM-10 lands
10th - Space Shuttle STS 35 (Columbia 11) lands
11th - 13 die in 83 vehicle accident in Chattanooga Tn I-75, due to fog
11th - US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) returns from space
12th - US accuses Iraq of dragging its feet on dates for talks
12th - US ambassador to Kuwait, Nathaniel Howell leaves Kuwait
13th - "Peter Pan" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 45 performances
13th - Heavy earthquake strikes Sicily, 18 die
13th - Pres De Klerk of S Afr meets with Mandela to talk of end of apartheid
14th - Louis Jordan's revue "Five Guys Named Moe," premieres in London
14th - Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later
15th - Rocker Rod Stewart marries super model Rachel Hunter
16th - Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected pres of Haiti
16th - KUSW, Salt Lake City Utah, final shortwave radio transmissions
16th - Rev Jean Betrand Aristide elected president of Haiti
17th - KTBN, Salt Lake City Utah, begins shortwave radio transmissions
18th - NL releases short list of teams for 1993 NL expansion
18th - NL announces Buffalo, Denver, Miami, Orlando, Tampa-St Petersburg, & Wash DC as 6 finalist for 1993 expansion (Miami & Denver win)
20th - Pentagon warns Saddam that US air power is ready to attack on 1/15
20th - Robert F X Sillerman purchases WAFL NY-NJ Knights for $11 million
20th - Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigns
21st - Steve & Mark Waugh complete 464* partnership for NSW v WA
22nd - Iraq announces it will never give up Kuwait
22nd - Israeli ferry capsizes killing 21 US servicemen
22nd - Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland's 1st popularly elected president
23rd - "Lettice & Lovage" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 284 perfs
23rd - Slovenians vote to secede from Yugoslavia
24th - Expos trade Tim Raines to White Sox for Ivan Calderon & Barry Jones
24th - Saddam says Israel will be Iraq's 1st target
25th - "Godfather III" premieres
25th - The first successful trial run of the system which would become the World Wide Web.
26th - Garry Kasparov beats Antatoly Karpov to retain chess championship
26th - Reggie Williams becomes 1st GM of WLAF's NY-NJ Knights
26th - Senior Professional Baseball Association folds
28th - 2 die in a NYC subway accident
28th - Blockbuster Bowl 1: Florida State beats Penn State, 24-17
29th - Olympic gymnist Mary Lou Retton weds Shannon Kelley
30th - "Miser" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 93 performances
30th - 11th United Negro College Fund raises $10,000,000
31st - Iraq begins a military draft of 17 year olds
31st - Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting
31st - United Somali Congress seizes Presidential Palace

34 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 1989

This remains to date the longest Christmas poem I've ever written. The stories behind it are quite compelling. I'll start with the personal one.

After having lived on our own in an apartment for three years, my wife was the driving force behind us purchasing a house of our own. Even with two incomes, saving for a down payment was going to take a long time. We accepted an offer from my mother to move back into my old family home with her for several years, providing her with some additional money and thus acquiring the ability to save as much cash as possible to buy a house of our own.

This worked fine for a while but after having lived on our own terms, the strain of the sacrifice started to take a toll. This was to be the third (and final) Christmas before we would have a house built and move into our own home. Thus I felt caught between the rock and a hard place (wife and mother) and all of the tensions contained therein. The "letter to mom" idea gave me an outlet to find a gentler, more innocent tone.

The theme of the train ride on the California  Zephyr came from the strangest of places; I had placed a gift order from the Lands' End company and the basis of my poem was printed by them on the packing tissue that surrounded the clothes! It was the story of the actual train called "Letters from the Road" and the festivities of coming home through the Rocky Mountains for the holidays. I but needed to create my cast of characters for the letter and off I ran. Serendipity is a glorious thing!

I blended in one great historical happening and one newly minted technological ability. The historical event had occurred in November, shortly before I began the writing process. To witness the fall of the Berlin wall was a mind boggling, surreal experience even from a distance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM2qq5J5A1s). If you watch this video, note the pure emotionality expressed on the faces of the people. It shook me to my soul and I had to work it into the poem simply for posterity.

On the technological side, this was by far the most ambitious (and expensive) project that I ever took on. I used the Mac to design and create an actual, binder stapled card (albeit in black & white) to mail out. There was no folded paper this year; the card was the poem. It still had to be produced by an print shop for the quantity I required but it was all my original work. I could not have been more pleased as we spent one last Christmas with my mom and prepared for a dramatic new adventure in our life story.

Christmas 1989

by

Richard Perrotti

“Letters From the Road”

Dear Mom,

Call it corny, call it a cliché,

Say it’s cute, sentimental or insane.

But I’m feeling like a kid of five again

As I ride ‘cross the land on this train.

Yeah, I admit that it’s sort of a goofy idea,

But arriving late isn’t a crime.

I’ve just never seen the heartland, Mom,

And Christmas seemed like the right time.

Remember “The City of New Orleans”?

Well, “The California Zephyr’s” my song.

And with three days to live out some lyrics,

It’s a coast-to-coast carol, loud and strong.

See, we’re all on dead run in December

with precious few moments to spare.

There’s hardly the time to stop and think,

So chances like this one are rare.

This Am-trek might answer some questions

that inspires a pause for some thought.

Like, are toys better behind a store window

Or at home, unwrapped and bought?

In the lounge they’re showing “White Christmas”

and assorted holiday tales.

But compared to the ones spun around me,

these Hollywood versions seem pale.

There’s hundreds of people aboard this train

and countless stories to be told.

You smile, make small talk, ask one simple question

and listen to a life unfold.

I met a young soldier named Robert,

back from Europe and Illinois-bound.

We laughed as we spoke about Germany

And how the Wall had come tumbling down.

The grandeur that’s called Colorado

Can scarcely begin to compete

With the glow of the newlywed couple,

whose love makes all else seem obsolete.

The porter named Johnny grew quiet,

“I’ll take Mom to church Christmas Eve.

She’s turned eighty-six, and it’s been a long time…”

This thought made him sad, I believe.

Gram and Gramps Johnson seemed restless

as the train approached Denver that morn.

But there at the platform stood their family,

and a joyous reunion was born.

The pace of the passage grew peaceful.

In the lounge, I started to dream.

This train was but one living story,

and those are but Christmas’ main theme.

It’s people and places, stories and legends,

and the room to nurture and grow,

that soon spawns tales that often begin,

“Once upon a time, a long time ago…”

One young girl finally gave me the answer,

why we rode on this blast from the past.

“It’s not just the day, but the event itself.

This journey just helps make it last.”

I’ll give you this note when I see you,

As this trip’s shown me just why we roam.

We’re all rushing in a million directions

But heading for the same place… home.

Glad to be back, Mom.

Love,

Your son

Closing out the '80s, December 1989:
1st - "Day Without Art"-Artists demonstrate against AIDS
1st - East Germany drops communist monopoly from its constitution
1st - Mark Langston signs record $3.2 million per year Cal Angels contract
1st - USSR Pres Mikhail S Gorbachev meets Pope John Paul II at the Vatican
2nd - 55th Heisman Trophy Award: Andre Ware, Houston (QB)
2nd - KHJ-TV in Los Angeles CA changes call letters to KCAL-TV
2nd - Vishwanath Pratap Singh sworn in as president of India
3rd - Pat Bradley/Bill Glasson wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
5th - France TGV train reaches world record speed of 482.4 kph
6th - Mafia drug kingpin bombs security force at Bogota, kills 52
6th - Worst Canadian mass murder: Marc Lepine kills 14 women at U Montreal
7th - C Coleman & D Zippel's musical "City of Angels," premieres in NYC
8th - Great Britain performs nuclear test
9th - "Les Miserables" opens at Princess Theatre, Melbourne
10th - President Gustav Husak of Czechoslovakia, resigns
11th - "City of Angels" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 878 performances
11th - Mark Davis signs record $3.25 million per year KC Royals contract
13th - Walter Davis (Denver) ends NBA free throw streak of 53 games
13th - The last issue of Gnistan (The Spark), the organ of the Solidaritetspartiet, is published in Sweden.
16th - Commencement of 1st Test Cricket play at Bellerive Oval, Hobart (v SL)
16th - Geoff Marsh completes 355* for WA against South Australia
16th - Protest breaks out in Timişoara in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor, László Tőkés.
17th - 78th Davis Cup: Germany beats Sweden in Stuttgart (3-2)
17th - Brazil elects conservative Fernando Collor de Mello pres
17th - Michael Bevan scores cricket century on 1st-class debut (114 SA v WA)
17th - Patti Rizzo/Mike Hill wins LPGA Mazda Golf Championship
17th - The longest-running American sitcom The Simpsons had its debut.
18th - "I Love Lucy" Christmas episode, shown for 1st time in over 30 years
18th - Athol Fugard's "My Children, My Africa," premieres in NYC
19th - American Airlines purchases Eastern Airline's Latin American route
19th - Larry Bird (Celtics) begins NBA free throw streak of 71 games
20th - Premier Lubbers sees CDA-party leader Elco Brinkman as successor
20th - US troops invade Panama & oust Manuel Noriega, but don't catch him
21st - VP Quayle sends out 30,000 Xmas cards with word beacon spelled beakon
22nd - After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Nicolae Ceausescu
22nd - Chad adopts its Constitution
22nd - Cold wave: -4°F in Oklahoma City, -6°F in Tulsa, -12°F in Pitts
22nd - -18°F in Denver, -23°F in KC Mo, -42°F in Scottsbluff Nebraska -47°F in Hardin Mont & -60°F in Black Hills South Dakota
24th - Charles Taylor enters Liberia to unseat President Samuel K Doe
24th - Panama's dictator, Manual Noriega seeks asylum at Vatican embassy
25th - Japanese scientist achieve -271.8°C, coldest temp ever recorded
26th - ODI debut for Mark Taylor & Sanath Jayasuriya at cricket MCG
27th - Oregon begins taking bids on NBA games
28th - Alexander Dubcek elected parliament chairman of Czech
28th - Earthquake at Newcastle Australia, 11 die
29th - Jane Pauley says goodbye to NBC's "Today" show
29th - Vaclav Havel becomes president of Czechoslovakia
29th - Wayne Gretzky & Martina Navratilova, named athletes of decade by AP
29th - Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees.
30th - 10th United Negro College Fund raises $12,000,000
30th - Dmitri Volkov swims world record 50m freestyle (27.15 sec)
31st - "Me & My Girl" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 1420 performances
31st - "Threepenny Opera" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 perfs
31st - Actress Annabella Sciorra (Jungle Fever) weds Joe Petruzzi
31st - Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolls in on Bears 20-12 victory over Eagles
31st - Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year