THANKS, DOUG!

Friday, 9:00 AM, and we’re still here. The sun burst through lingering black clouds this morning, right on schedule, and chased them away to somewhere over the horizon.  29 degrees F, wind NW, moderate with stronger gusts.  The humidity is 81% and the barometer has risen to over 30 in. I shoveled  drifted snow from the drive and walks this morning but it was rather invigorating and not really a chore.  As regards end of the world predictions, I think the ancient Mayans simply got tired of chiseling numbers into stone. 
        At last, the winter solstice has arrived and as of today the sun will begin its journey back to the frozen Northland, bringing with it first light, and eventually warmth.  Early Christians appropriately appointed Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ, on a date when the sun has begun to again return to the Northern Hemisphere.  Unfortunately it does the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, although it doesn’t seem to dampen spirits there, and old St. Nick can arrive in arctic clothing in warm and sunny Brazil as well  as in cold and dark Norway, although it all seems a bit bizarre.  In any case, the message of love, peace and renewal is the same all over the world.
        I received an unexpected and much appreciated little Christmas gift yesterday from longtime blog reader Douglas  Petersen of Albemarle, North Carolina; a little book, “Manalive,” by G. K. Chesterton.  Doug introduced me to the works of Chesterton a while ago, and I read and then reviewed for blog readers his outrageously humorous and yet metaphysical work, “The Man Who Was Tuesday.”  “Manalive” promises to be as enjoyable a read.
         I suspect that Chesterton is not for everyone, but he is for me. Thanks, Doug!