Merry Christmas to all...

[Flyingmonk]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1029186287851621640

I have posted the story below before, but it is My Christmas Story, so
I'll share it again... :^)

My grandfather came to the US to visit us a few years back. He stayed
for a year. He came in the Fall and made a comment about how all the
trees in the US are dying. "What is going on here in the US, why are
all the trees dying?", he said. "The mountains are becoming bald!(In
Thailand, trees don't loose their leaves, they are green all year
round.)

I took my girls to a tree farm and cut our Chritsmas tree. We brought
it home and decorate it like we do every year. "Why are you people
worshiping trees?", asked granddad. "Why are you giving that tree so
many presents?"

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

[Flyingmonk]

http://www.reuters.hu/card_dom/index_content.html

[Kevin Dunlevy]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story of your grandfather and your video
Christmas card. KD


"Flyingmonk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1029186287851621640
>
> I have posted the story below before, but it is My Christmas Story, so
> I'll share it again... :^)
>
> My grandfather came to the US to visit us a few years back. He stayed
> for a year. He came in the Fall and made a comment about how all the
> trees in the US are dying. "What is going on here in the US, why are
> all the trees dying?", he said. "The mountains are becoming bald!(In
> Thailand, trees don't loose their leaves, they are green all year
> round.)
>
> I took my girls to a tree farm and cut our Chritsmas tree. We brought
> it home and decorate it like we do every year. "Why are you people
> worshiping trees?", asked granddad. "Why are you giving that tree so
> many presents?"
>
> Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone
>

[Flyingmonk]

You're very welcome.

"In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians
called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukka'
and
went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People
passing
each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy
Hanukka!' or
(to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'" - Dave Barry

[Jay Honeck]

> "In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season

In our VERY politically correct college town (one of our friends who works
at the University of Iowa was ordered by the HR director to remove a 6-inch
ceramic Christmas tree from her desk, because it "might offend" someone!)
it's the norm to say "Happy Holidays!"

Almost NO ONE here says, "Merry Christmas!"

However, I take comfort in the knowledge that "Holiday" is derived from
"Holy Day" -- and thus the PC Nazis are actually inadvertently sanctioning
saying the same thing as everyone else...

:-)

Merry Christmas!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[JohnH]

Flyingmonk wrote:
> http://www.reuters.hu/card_dom/index_content.html

http://www.wimp.com/charlie/

[Jose]

> People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy
> Hanukka!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'" - Dave Barry

Is that where we get the Harvey Wallbanger?

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Flyingmonk]

Jose wrote:
>Is that where we get the Harvey Wallbanger?

Harvey must've been an athiest eh? :^)

[Cub Driver]

Thanks, Monk! I enjoyed both of them.


On 22 Dec 2005 16:40:15 -0800, "Flyingmonk" > wrote:

>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1029186287851621640
>
>I have posted the story below before, but it is My Christmas Story, so
>I'll share it again... :^)
>
>My grandfather came to the US to visit us a few years back. He stayed
>for a year. He came in the Fall and made a comment about how all the
>trees in the US are dying. "What is going on here in the US, why are
>all the trees dying?", he said. "The mountains are becoming bald!(In
>Thailand, trees don't loose their leaves, they are green all year
>round.)
>
>I took my girls to a tree farm and cut our Chritsmas tree. We brought
>it home and decorate it like we do every year. "Why are you people
>worshiping trees?", asked granddad. "Why are you giving that tree so
>many presents?"
>
>Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article <2dLqf.645944$_o.489482@attbi_s71>,
"Jay Honeck" > wrote:

> > "In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season
>
> In our VERY politically correct college town (one of our friends who works
> at the University of Iowa was ordered by the HR director to remove a 6-inch
> ceramic Christmas tree from her desk, because it "might offend" someone!)
> it's the norm to say "Happy Holidays!"
>
> Almost NO ONE here says, "Merry Christmas!"
>
> However, I take comfort in the knowledge that "Holiday" is derived from
> "Holy Day" -- and thus the PC Nazis are actually inadvertently sanctioning
> saying the same thing as everyone else...

Jay, just tell everybody,"Merry Christmas -- you DO know that whenever
anybody says 'Happy Holidays,' an elf dies."

--
Remve "_" from email to reply to me personally.

[Flyingmonk]

The following was copied from 'nother thread:

For My Democrat Friends:

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes
for an
environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress,
non-addictive,
gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced
within the
most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice,
or secular
practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular
persuasion and/or
traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or
secular traditions at
all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and
medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted
calendar year
2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of
other cultures
whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to
imply that
America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only
America in the
Western Hemisphere, and without regard to the race, creed, color,
age, physical
ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By
accepting these
greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to
clarification or
withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the
original greeting. It
implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the
wishes for
herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and
is revocable
at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to
perform as expected
within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year
or until the
issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and
warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the
sole discretion
of the wisher."


For My Republican Friends:

Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and
Prosperous New Year.

[Matt Whiting]

Flyingmonk wrote:
> The following was copied from 'nother thread:
>
> For My Democrat Friends:
>
> "Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes
> for an
> environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress,
>
> {snipped to save bandwidth}
>
>
> For My Republican Friends:
>
> Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and
> Prosperous New Year.
>

That is just too funny ... and, sadly, too true. :-)


Matt

[Flyingmonk]

http://www.reuters.hu/card_dom/index_content.html
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/1094/
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/1022/
http://www.compfused.com/directlink/1064/


The following was copied from 'nother thread:
__________________________________________________ _____________________________________
For My Democrat Friends:

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes
for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress,
non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice
holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the
religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your
choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or
traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or
secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful,
personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the
onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due
respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose
contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply
that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only
America in the Western Hemisphere, and without regard to the race,
creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual
preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are
accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or
withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the
original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually
implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is
void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of
the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the
usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the
issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and
warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new
wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."


For My Republican Friends:

Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and
Prosperous New Year.
__________________________________________________ _____________________________________

Reposted for ease of readability.

[JohnH]

> For My Republican Friends:
>
> Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and
> Prosperous New Year.

What do you say to those who will not be herded in one of these 2 groups?

[Flyingmonk]

>What do you say to those who will not be herded in one of these 2 groups?

How about 'Look out for the wall!' :^)
__________________________________________
"In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians
called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukka'
and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People
passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy

Hanukka!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'" - Dave Barry
__________________________________________

[John Huthmaker]

I always have a very tough time with that. Many of my clients are Jewish.
I'm of the Christian faith. Many times I have to bite my tongue, as I would
normally say "Merry Christmas". Instead if I am going to give holiday
cheer, I always make sure to say "Happy Holidays".

John

--
John Huthmaker
PPL-SEL P-28-161

http://www.cogentnetworking.com

[Peter Duniho]

"John Huthmaker" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>I always have a very tough time with that. Many of my clients are Jewish.
>I'm of the Christian faith.

I don't know any Jewish people who would be offended by being told "Merry
Christmas", nor would I be offended if someone else wished me a happy
Hanukah or Kwanza or whatever winter solstice holiday was appropriate to
them.

I'm sure there are such people out there, but there's no point in worrying
about whether you'll offend them or not. They're looking to be offended,
and they'll find a way to be offended no matter what.

Pete

[JJS]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:2dLqf.645944$_o.489482@attbi_s71...
>> "In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season
>
> In our VERY politically correct college town (one of our friends who works at the University of Iowa was ordered by
> the HR director to remove a 6-inch ceramic Christmas tree from her desk, because it "might offend" someone!) it's
> the norm to say "Happy Holidays!"
>
> Almost NO ONE here says, "Merry Christmas!"
>
> However, I take comfort in the knowledge that "Holiday" is derived from "Holy Day" -- and thus the PC Nazis are
> actually inadvertently sanctioning saying the same thing as everyone else...
>
> :-)
>
> Merry Christmas!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

I thought you were an agnostic?



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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[Jack]

JohnH wrote:

> What do you say to those who will not be herded in one of these 2 groups?

Get an after-life?


Jack

[Tom Conner]

"Matt Whiting" > wrote in message
...
> Flyingmonk wrote:
> > The following was copied from 'nother thread:
> >
> > For My Democrat Friends:
> >
> > "Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes
> > for an
> > environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress,
> >
> > {snipped to save bandwidth}
> >
> >
> > For My Republican Friends:
> >
> > Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and
> > Prosperous New Year.
> >
>
> That is just too funny ... and, sadly, too true. :-)
>

Actually, its to stupid to be either funny or true.

[Matt Whiting]

Tom Conner wrote:
> "Matt Whiting" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Flyingmonk wrote:
>>
>>>The following was copied from 'nother thread:
>>>
>>>For My Democrat Friends:
>>>
>>>"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes
>>>for an
>>> environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress,
>>>
>>
>> > {snipped to save bandwidth}
>>
>>>
>>>For My Republican Friends:
>>>
>>>Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and
>>> Prosperous New Year.
>>>
>>
>>That is just too funny ... and, sadly, too true. :-)
>>
>
>
> Actually, its to stupid to be either funny or true.

You obviously don't get out much. I work for a Fortune 500 company and
the level of PC is now ridiculous. Not quite as bad as the funny above,
but not that far removed either.

Matt

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
Matt Whiting > wrote:

> You obviously don't get out much. I work for a Fortune 500 company and
> the level of PC is now ridiculous. Not quite as bad as the funny above,
> but not that far removed either.

check out wrapping paper and such with Santa Claus images - some of this
stuff has "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas!

In any case. Merry Christmas!

--
Bob Noel
New NHL? what a joke

[Sylvain]

Bob Noel wrote:
>>You obviously don't get out much. I work for a Fortune 500 company and
>>the level of PC is now ridiculous. Not quite as bad as the funny above,
>>but not that far removed either.
>
> check out wrapping paper and such with Santa Claus images - some of this
> stuff has "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas!

I hate that situation; what is an atheist supposed to do these days? I
don't care either way, but now we are put in a situation where you are
bound to offend someone no matter what you say or don't say; as an
experiment I started to say 'Happy Hanukkah' when in a situation where
I cannot avoid saying something; it seems to keep both the PC and
the fundies crowd quiet, i.e., so far it works at deflecting
criticisms...

Happy Hanukkah then, and fly safe folks (as much as I am happy with
my new 'UDF team' rating, I'd rather not have to use it during the
Holidays)

--Sylvain

[Montblack]

("Sylvain" wrote)
> I hate that situation; what is an atheist supposed to do these days? I
> don't care either way, but now we are put in a situation where you are
> bound to offend someone no matter what you say or don't say; as an
> experiment I started to say 'Happy Hanukkah' when in a situation where I
> cannot avoid saying something; it seems to keep both the PC and the
> fundies crowd quiet, i.e., so far it works at deflecting criticisms...


http://www.garagelogic.com/euphoriamas.htm
"Happy Channaramakwanzmas!"


Montblack

[JohnH]

> http://www.garagelogic.com/euphoriamas.htm
> "Happy Channaramakwanzmas!"

I see you omitted our faith of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - I'm offended!
;^)

http://www.venganza.org/

Happy day!

[Sylvain]

JohnH wrote:
> I see you omitted our faith of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - I'm offended!

well the problem is that the Gospel of the Giant Flying Spaghetti
Monster is not due for publication until March 2006; meanwhile
we are a bit in the dark as far as what proper greetings are
appropriate and for which holidays (if any) and such... the snag
of being on the cutting edge of any field.

--Sylvain

[Montblack]

>> http://www.garagelogic.com/euphoriamas.htm
>> "Happy Channaramakwanzmas!"

("JohnH" wrote)
> I see you omitted our faith of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - I'm
> offended! ;^)
>
> http://www.venganza.org/


Happy Channaramakwanzmas ...with meatballs.


Mont [I look handsome, I look smart] black and red
And yellow and green and brown
And scarlet and... ochre and peach
And ruby and olive and violet and fawn
And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve
And cream and crimson and silver and rose
And azure and lemon and russet and grey
And purple and white and pink and orange
And red and yellow and green and brown and
Scarlet and black and ochre and peach
And ruby and olive and violet and fawn
And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve
And cream and crimson and silver and rose
And azure and lemon and russet and grey
And purple and white and pink and orange
And blue

[Martin Hotze]

On 22 Dec 2005 16:40:15 -0800, Flyingmonk wrote:

>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1029186287851621640

there is a part 2:
<http://www.fazed.org/video/view/?id=128>

>Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

#m
--
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
W. Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III, scene I

[Flyingmonk]

Well everyone, Christmas is over... Now if everyone could take a
moment and help Santa. He is missing one of his elves.

http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=jzxuvt

The Monk