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-[I]- For the holiday - you should expect this by now

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Paul .Jamison

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Dec 25, 2021, 1:31:53 AM12/25/21
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A holiday tradition for me. Enjoy.

A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS
By Clement C. Moore or Henry Livingston - take your pick

- 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
- Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

(A mouse appears, wearing a chef's cap and holding a dripping ladle.) Mouse: "That's what *he* thinks! I've got borscht simmering on the stove and I’m stirring all right!"

Pew - The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
- In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

(Several stockings are hung from the mantelpiece - one for Paul, one for Murphy, one for Max, one for Sammy, one for Clarissa, and a whole *lot* for the Skippys.)

- The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
- While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

(Murphy and Max, two Sable ferrets, wearing little scalloped baby bonnets, are snuggled together in bed.)

Murphy: "What *is* a sugar plum, anyway? Is it a plum covered in sugar or a piece of candy shaped like a plum?"
Max: "Gee, I don't know, Murph. Sir - what's a sugar plum?"

- Well, it's, er - uh - And Mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
- Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

(Paul, with a cap, and Sammy, a Dark-Eyed White ferret wearing a ‘kerchief over a blonde wig, are in bed together. Sammy sits up.)

Sammy: "Look, I didn't object to taking this Gentile gig, but has anyone told you that you *snore*?"

- Thanks a lot - When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
- I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Clarissa: “A piece of hard candy made of hardened sugar in a small round or oval shape.”

- What?!

Clarissa (Sammy's wife, a Cinnamon ferret): “A sugar plum. It's a piece of hard candy. That's what Wikipedia says. No fruit involved.”

- Oh. Thank you for that. - Away to the window -

Sammy: “Say, how come my better half didn't get this job as Mamma? I'd think she'd be better suited for it.”

- Well…

Clarissa: “You've done it so many times before, dear heart. It's traditional by now.”

- There you go. - Away to the window -

Clarissa: “Besides, it's funnier this way."

- EXCUSE me, I'm working here!

Clarissa, Sammy; “Sorry, sir.”

- Quite all right. - Away to the window I flew like a flash,
- Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

Max: “Sir?”

- Yes, what is it now?

Max: “I just wanted to thank you for not using the 'threw up the sash' line to make a bad joke.”

- Oh. You're welcome. I do have my standards. Now where was I? Oh, yes, looking out the window.

(Paul sees Skippy, Skippy, Skippy and Skippy standing around the smoking Civil War Cannon.)

Paul: "Hey! Late Christmas Eve is *not* the time for firing practice!"

Skippy: "Sorry, boss. We've been busy shopping lately!"

- The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
- Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
- When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
- But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

(A sleigh, pulled by eight ferrets wearing fake antlers, comes flying through the air.)

- With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
- I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

(Skippy-Santa goes "Ho! Ho! Ho!" over and over and over. Skippy-Santa has been hitting the special Christmas punch quite a bit lately.)

- More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
- And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
- "Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
- On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Dunder and Blixem! - the last two are the original names; look it up.
- To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
- Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

(Skippy-Dasher, Skippy-Dancer, Skippy-Prancer, Skippy-Vixen, Skippy-Comet, Skippy-Cupid, Skippy-Dunder and Skippy-Blixem struggle to pull the sleigh through the air. Skippy-Santa has been hitting the Christmas fruitcake quite a bit lately, too.)

- As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
- When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
- So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
- With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
- And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
- The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

(The ferret reindeer frantically scramble to stay on the roof. A gable roof is really not suitable as a landing pad.)

- As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
- Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

(Standing in from of the fireplace is Skippy-Santa, and he's not alone. With him is Skippy, dressed in green with a peaked cap and shoes with turned-up toes.)

Paul: "Hey, who are you?"

Skippy: "I'm Skippy-Santa's helper. You don't seriously expect one little ferret to carry a big sack full of toys without help, do you?"

Paul: "Well, I don't expect ferrets to fly, either."

Skippy-Santa: "Look, can we get on with this and leave the philosophical discussions for later? We're working to a schedule here. Ho, ho, ho!"

- He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
- And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

Skippy-Santa (brushing off his suit): "You know, you really need to clean that chimney. It's bad enough to be a pollution hazard."

- A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
- And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
- His eyes - how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
- His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
- His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
- And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

Skippy-Santa: "White as the snow? After I came down *that* chimney? I should be so lucky!"

- The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
- And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath - Hey, who was talking about pollution just now?

Skippy-Santa: "Don't get personal, bud - not unless you're looking forward to getting a stocking-full of coal!"

- Duly noted - He had a broad face and a little round belly,
- That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

Skippy-Santa: "My cue - Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!" (Skippy-Santa continues to laugh until a squishy plastic bag starts slipping out from beneath his red coat.)

Skippy-helper: "Psst! You're losing your gel-pack!"

Skippy-Santa: "What - yipes!" (Skippy-Santa stops laughing and stuffs the gel-pack back up under his coat.)

- He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
- And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
- A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
- Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

(Skippy-Santa looks at a gift marked "To Paul - Do not open until Christmas!" He snickers but says nothing.)

- He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
- And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

Skippy-helper: "Hey! I didn't come here to be insulted!"
Skippy-Santa: "He wasn't talking about you."
Skippy-helper: "...Oh."
Skippy-Santa (under his breath): "Jerk."

- And laying his finger aside of his nose,
- And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

(Skippy-Santa disappears up the chimney. Skippy-helper leans forward to look up after him and dodges some dislodged soot.)

Paul: "That was a neat trick. How'd he do that?"
Skippy-helper (turning to look at Paul): "I don't know. What I'm worried about is how do *I* get up there?"

(A white paw in a red sleeve reaches down from the flue to grab Skippy-helper's collar. Skippy-helper says "WHOA!" and is pulled up the chimney.)

- I guess that answers that - He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
- And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

(Skippy-Dasher, Skippy-Dancer, Skippy-Prancer, Skippy-Vixen, Skippy-Comet, Skippy-Cupid, Skippy-Dunder and Skippy-Blixem groan and gasp and wheeze as they attempt to get the sleigh into the air. Skippy, Skippy, Skippy and Skippy are in the back now with the vintage Civil War Cannon, and the sleigh is a lot heavier than before.)

Skippy-Prancer: "I should've taken that job offer - pant, pant - with Animal Planet. Working in television sounds nice right now."
Skippy-Comet: "Hey, we're getting Time-and-a-half for this! Besides, the Medical plan is great!"
Skippy-Dunder: "We're gonna *need* a great Medical plan pretty soon! Does anyone know if it covers trusses?"

- But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

Skippy-Santa: "Okay, back there! Ready... aim..."
Skippy-Vixen: "Oh, NO!!"
Skippy-Blixem (quietly): "Take me now, Lord..."
Skippy-Santa: "FIRE!"

*BOOOOOOMMM!!*

(The recoil causes chaos. The sleigh tumbles around and loses half of its altitude. All of the ferret reindeer are clawing at the air, their eyes bugging and their tongues hanging out like they're demented, somehow finding enough reserves to keep her aloft. Skippy-Santa, Skippy-helper and the Cannon Crew have fallen out and are hanging on to the sides of the sleigh.)

(The charge soars to altitude and explodes, showering the Internet with tinsel, candy canes, glitter and red-and-green M&Ms in Plain, Peanut, Pemmican, Ferretone, Fay's Lemon Bars, Twinkie Weiner Sandwich, Alfalfa, Eggnog, Haggis, Yorkshire Pudding, Cheese and all the popular flavors.)

Skippy-Santa (climbing back into sleigh): "I guess that wasn't such a good idea."
Skippy-helper (frantically trying to get Skippy-Santa's attention): "Psst! *Hey!*” (Points at audience) "We're not *done* here!"
Skippy-Santa: "Huh? Oh, right!

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!"

(The sleigh lurches off into the distance, to the merry sounds of "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and "Aww, button it, laughing boy!", while Paul, Murphy, Max, Sammy, Clarissa and the remaining Skippys gather together and sing a classic Christmas Carol)

"Deck us all with Boston Charlie,
Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo!
Nora's freezin' on the trolley,
Swaller dollar cauliflower alley'garoo!

"Don't we know archaic barrel,
Lullaby lilla boy, Louisville Lou?
Trolley Molly don't love Harold,
Boola boola Pensacola hullabaloo!"

(Thank you, Walt Kelly)

Paul: “And thus we present another Christmas salute. I swear, this gets more chaotic each year! I don’t know -”

(Skippy comes up to Paul and tugs on his sleeve.) Paul: “Eh?”

Skippy: “It seems we have an audience, boss.” (Points to one side. There are two Pit Bulls standing there – Kayne and Queena. Next to them is a Pot-bellied Pig named, through no fault of her own, Porkchop, but she doesn’t seem to mind. The three look at Paul with curiosity, tentatively wagging their tails.)

(Paul looks at them thoughtfully. Next to them are three other, less substantial animals – a Rottweiler named Titan and two ferrets named Al and Peggy.)

(Stretching out behind them is a very large group of animal spirits of all shapes and sizes. And beyond them is the colorful arch of the Rainbow Bridge.)

Paul (softly): “I think we should sing one more verse.”

Skippy: “I agree, boss.”

(Murphy, Sammy, Clarissa, Max and all the Skippys begin to sing.)

“Bark us all bow-wows of folly
Double-bubble, toyland trouble! Woof, Woof, Woof!
Tizzy seas on melon collie!
Dibble-dabble, scribble-scrabble! Goof, Goof, Goof!”

(The animal audience smile and bark, purr, oink, dook, and other-noise their approval.)


Happy Christmas, folks!

Nigel Stapley

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Dec 25, 2021, 5:59:13 AM12/25/21
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On 25/12/2021 06:31, Paul .Jamison wrote:
> A holiday tradition for me. Enjoy.
>

<Reluctant but essential snippage, as some of us remember the Old Laws
of Usenet>

>
>
> Happy Christmas, folks!

Thank you Paul. Happy holidays to the few of us who are left here.

--
Regards

Nigel Stapley

www.thejudge.me.uk

<reply-to will bounce>

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Steveski

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Dec 25, 2021, 7:47:30 AM12/25/21
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On 25/12/2021 10:58, Nigel Stapley wrote:
> On 25/12/2021 06:31, Paul .Jamison wrote:
>> A holiday tradition for me. Enjoy.
>>
>
> <Reluctant but essential snippage, as some of us remember the Old Laws
> of Usenet>
>
>>
>>
>> Happy Christmas, folks!
>
> Thank you Paul. Happy holidays to the few of us who are left here.

From me also, as well.

--
Steveski

ppin...@gmail.com

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Dec 29, 2021, 6:58:45 PM12/29/21
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- and from this ppint. also - and it's not yet new year's eve, neither!

- any. afpfriend as just happens to find themselves in morecambe is
welcome to congregate in the eric bartholemew - or to attempt so to
do - with yr hmbl srppnt. 30, 21/12/21 or 2, 3.../1/22 (1/1/22 is not
possible for me, as no buses are running even if said pub is open)
(so may be felt preferable by some) with the offer of a free coffee
or rthree

ppin...@gmail.com

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Jan 8, 2022, 4:27:53 AM1/8/22
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on wednesday, 29 december 2021, yr hmbl srppnt. wrote:
> On 25 December 2021 12:47:30 UTC, Steveski wrote:
> > On 25/12/2021 10:58, Nigel Stapley wrote:
> > > On 25/12/2021 06:31, Paul .Jamison wrote:
> > >> A holiday tradition for me. Enjoy.
> > > <Reluctant but essential snippage, as some of us remember the Old Laws
> > > of Usenet>
> > >> Happy Christmas, folks!
> > > Thank you Paul. Happy holidays to the few of us who are left here.
> > From me also, as well.
> and from this ppint. also - and it's not yet new year's eve, neither!
>
> - any. afpfriend as just happens to find themselves in morecambe is
> welcome to congregate in the eric bartholemew - or to attempt so to
> do - with yr hmbl srppnt. 30, 21/12/21 or 2, 3.../1/22 (1/1/22 is not
> possible for me, as no buses are running even if said pub is open)
> (so may be felt preferable by some) with the offer of a free coffee
> or three

- s/or 2, 3.../1/22/or 10, 11, 12, 13/1/22 (relocating to lancaster if the
morecumbrian venue be closed ''for technical reasons'' or others)/

- love, a ppint. as got forced into such a relocation 31/12/21
--
''life is sensational!'' - jackie mathews
then co-resident of 40 regent street
summer 1978
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