A little screed on Christmas by a certain character in a certain Christmas tale:

[Brigid]

"There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say . . . But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around -- apart from the veneration due its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely and to think of people below them as if the really were fellow-passengers to the grave and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

-- Scrooge's nephew

[El_Johns]

1. Yesterday I had to go to the grocery store after work to pick up stuff for a party at my workplace

the next day. The store was packed, all the lines were super-long, going into the merchandise aisles. I thought "Oh, boy, everyone is going to be grumpy" but was very surprised to find everyone was tolerating it very well, talking to each other in line, letting people with only a few items cut in front, & the store had an elf with cookies walking around.

It turned out to be a very pleasant experience even though I was in line nearly half an hour, & made me wonder why we can't be this nice to each other all year round.