Westfield,
Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Union County, NJ - 02dec26
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Special
Edition:
Looking Back at First Half Year 2002
First
Half of Year 2002 Brought:
Property Tax Increase
Drinking Ordinance Debate
Two Decks Choice
Editorial
I Tried to be Careful Mr. Jones;
Thank You Santa For Understanding
When I
was a young boy, admittedly a long time ago, Christmastime was a
time of great joy, wonderment, warmth and merriment. True, Santa
Claus was on my mind. I thought I’d been good most of the year
and that Santa would be good to me.
He’d
understand that when I broke Mr. Jones’ window with the foul
ball, that it was an accident. I was sure Santa would also
understand that when we heard the shattering glass, there was a
moment of panic. Yes, we all ran and even thought we’d get away
with it – undiscovered.
Our
mothers knew about that broken window before we ever got home. A
stern lecture and direct orders to go over to Mr. Jones and
confess that I did it – that’s what I got. Mr. Jones tried to
be very stern and asked if I’d rake and weed his garden to help
pay for it. I did. He then thanked me for owning up and asked that
I be more careful next time. I think he even smiled, now that I
look back on it.
It
must have been the right thing to do because Santa did get me the
Lionel train that I had so longed for. And next year I got the red
Western Flyer bicycle.
Christmas
then was also such a happy time of the year – everyone smiled
and wished all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. For a
moment, at least, there was "Peace on Earth and Goodwill
Towards Men."
I didn’t
understand political correctness back then. The only thing I
believed was that Merry Christmas was the warmest possible
greeting that one person could give to another. It was only pure
good in the intent.
Well,
after all those years, I might have broken a few other windows
since – but I always owned up. I tried to be careful, Mr. Jones.
And thank you, Santa, for understanding.
I
still think it’s okay to say, "Merry Christmas."
In the warmest sense,
Merry Christmas, everyone – and Happy New Year!
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