'Twas the night before Christmas at home and abroad, there were so many memoirs...the Smith site was clogged! This season was different than those in the past, between Jesus and Santa we all were aghast. As the broadcast of sorrow began to unfold, we stared at the screens while their story was told. The tragedy touched one of us all too near and he shared in a backstory, his pain very clear. Tragedies pass, as this one too must, and our memories turn all the pain into dust. Let's move on toward normal, perhaps one that's changed. Traditions and rituals might just keep us sane. As we look to the Spirit of Christmas to guide, let's jump aboard SmithMag for a holiday ride! We'll continue to share what's near to our hearts, maybe a glimpse of life's pieces and parts. Our fortunes continue to wax and to wane, so too our own health, as some have explained. Though many move on, we still hear about ghosts and how what we have lost often touches us most. We'll write it in memoirs and comments and quotes. We'll write it in the highest and lowest of notes. We'll write about stumbles and bumbles and blurts. We'll write about some of our life's little hurts. We'll write about laughter and joy and our hopes, then grin at one of life's small, snarky jokes. We'll write about cookies and turkeys and shopping and then about family that keeps us all hopping. We'll write about homecoming and carols and lights and then about holiday family fights. These days we can block what we don't want to see, kind of like watching Fox News on TV. We say it in six...or hyphenate seven. With a few hyphens more we can squeeze in eleven! As we post memoirs and pieces of mind, we'll complain about glitches we happen to find. Does Larry take drugs to put up with our fusses??? Does he dream of sending us all off on buses??? I doubt that it happens...most of the time. He is our rhythm and we, his rhyme. A benevolent dictator who champions free speech, still sometimes it's good to be just out of reach. And so as we write of our own daily lives, remember what's needed for Smith to survive. Great memoirs and stories and comments are good but remember to welcome new folks to the hood. As this Christmas Eve gets well underway, may the Spirit of all cherished seasons be with you on each and every day. Merry Christmas my friends!