Christmas Day 2007

Earlier on Christmas, as noted by Matthew on our Flickr.com Page:
Taken outside First Church in Cambridge (our UCC congregation), just after today's 11am service. The tree in the background is one of a pair of ancient yellowwoods on the front lawn. Both trees picked up some kind of disease, so won't last too much longer. The church planted a bunch of replacement sprigs last summer, keeping an eye on the future.

The Christmas carol-filled church service was the perfect antidote to that night's oddly violent encounter on the sidewalks of Cambridge. It was so nice to be among friends and families in the tiny church sanctuary. A few young girls participated in communion with their parents. One girl was particularly funny in that she grabbed the loaf-end of bread from the plate, not just a small piece as is our tradition. She must've been hungry! Anyway, her enthusiasm for the bread amused us all as we sang while she gnawed on the loaf during our time of reflection.

We returned home to a meal of tasty moussaka leftovers and gifts to be opened. Then we spent the rest of Christmas Day afternoon resting and relaxing at home. We played a few games with friends and then saw the Charlie Wilson's war movie he already described below.

A minor anti-Christmas experience

Last night, we saw Charlie Wilson's War, a decent new film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. (I'll try to review that soon.) On the walk home, we ran afoul of a domestic dispute that had spilled out onto the street. After some serious shouting, we got tangled up in it and I got whacked on the neck.

Ultimately, we disentangled and the (loud and abusive) guy went home a few doors away. Police cars soon arrived and took over the situation. Turns out the guy was wanted for robbery and something else, which probably meant a night in jail and an upcoming date with a judge.

We learned a few things about loud encounters. A key one will be getting police involved as soon as practical. (In this case, that meant an emergency call box a half-block away.) Somewhere around getting punched, I don't remember anything for a minute or so. Best I can tell, I was close enough to hit, so the guy did so. That took me back to a security training class reminder--if someone is less than 15 feet from you, then can almost certainly get to you. It's best to stay alert and at significant distance.

Short story, Christmas isn't exempt from the same trouble as any other day!

Home for the Holidays

Our First Christmas back in Dec' 02 and we were already dressing alike...yikes!

Now, 5 years later, we're wearing less gray but the same grins. Life is good at 34 Harvey Street and we're glad you dropped in to see us.

More to come...stay tuned. Happy Holidays!