My Christmas Card, or, The One With Alfie the Other Christmas Tree On this stille, heilige Nacht and Tag, ich wünsche you and yours and the whole world 'round true peace on Earth and goodwill between all men and women... ... so that we may all truly schlaff' im himmlischer Ruhe.

Do you remember the John Denver and The Muppets Christmas Album and Special? It's one of the best Christmas albums (after Amy's three or four) out there. Can you believe it? John Denver (and Jim Henson?) actually used the show and album as a platform to promote a new-age, humanistic, non-Christian holiday message to impressionable kids all over America. And it's good they did too ... If only more people remembered the message. So in case you've forgotten, or never knew, the story of Alfie the Christmas Tree - who just didn't want to change the show - here it is, the rest of my Christmas thought to you:

Alfie, The Christmas Tree
Listen to me (not John Denver) tell the story (.mp3 - 1 mb)
(it's OK, no-one's eating anything)

Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas tree Who just didn't want to change the show He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels He liked icicles and snow He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears And critters and creatures that crawled Why bugs were some of his very best friends Spiders and ants and all Now that's not to say that he ever looked down On a vision of twinkling lights Or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes And a thousand other delights And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer And a jolly old man in a sleigh Full of toys and presents and wonderful things And a story of Christmas Day Oh, Alfie believed in Christmas alright He was full of Christmas cheer All of each and every day And all throughout the year

To him it was more than a special time Much more than a special day It was more than a beautiful story It was a special kind of way You see some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring And they've never heard of Santa Claus They've never heard the story of the Son of God That made Alfie pause Did that mean that they'd never know of peace on Earth Or the Brotherhood of Man Or know how to love, or know how to give? If they can't, no one can You see, life is a very special kind of thing Not just for a chosen few But for each and every living, breathing thing, Not just me and you So in your Christmas prayers this year Alfie asked me, if I'd ask you, to Say a prayer for the wind and the water and the wood And those who live there, too    ---- Words by John Denver

posted by Steve at 12/25/2003 01:50:00 AM

The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder Wednesday, December 24, 2003

linked from The uComics Web Site
the self proclaimed "Best Comic Site In The Universe!" - check em out!

posted by Steve at 12/24/2003 05:03:00 PM

Another Very Special Mimeographed Christmas Letter OK. Sometimes I can be a little bit irreverent. But everything in its season ...

I found this letter when I was going through some papers. It's the mimeographed Christmas newsletter that Grandpa Espeland wrote - and that Grandma and Grandpa sent out - 10 years ago. As I mentioned this summer, Grandma Espeland went to receive her crown in heaven, and she will celebrate her first Christmas there in heaven this year. (I've always heard that when you got your crown in heaven you're supposed to turn around and give it back, but if I were Grandma - I'd keep it.)

Grandma had been living with Alzeimer's Disease in a home, that was several hours drive from Grandpa's house, for many years. Grandpa drove many times a week to be with her - and I remember one time when we visited how Grandma's eyes lit up when she saw him - even though she couldn't call many memories of people to the surface. That was one special love all the year around -- and my Grandpa wrote about that love one Christmas - the last Christmas Grandma was living in her and Grandpa's home.

(Don't worry. No-one gets eaten or makes any rude sound-effects in this Christmas letter -- though I do wonder about the "fertile ground" comment.)

---

Dear Friends: Hilde and I haven't gone much this year, we went to Renville, Minn. to see Hilde's Uncle Elmer Sandberg in the Renville home, then onto St. Paul to visit Alice, Hilde's sister in a home there.

Then about 2 months later back again to St. Paul for Alice's funeral.

In Sept. we went to visit Merle and Helen on the farm north of Granite Falls, Minn. Man can Helen ever put out a meal. Yum, Yum, Yum.

This year of 1993 has been a year of memory's, our minds go back to our highschool days and foreward....

On the first day of school in the year 1932, I seen the most desirable girl in the highschool assembly room. Now how was I going to meet this girl? I being green grass as far as girls go, well anyway I sat behind her and kicked her legs under the seat, now it goes without saying I didn't make much of a hit, seeing I also had onions on my breath, also wore a purple sweater.

I tried to date this most desireable girl, she had more excuses why she couldn't go out, "I have a headache", "I have to babysit", "wont be home", "have to work", and it went on and on.

Needless to say I went to greener pastures and dated other girls, but just couldn't forget that most desireable girl. A year later, April 16, 1933, my thoughts again centered on this gal. I wonder how she is, has things changed? I wonder has she run out of excuses?

So in boldness I drove out to her home, hoping and hoping for fertile ground. Her brother Merle was out in the yard, he seen it was that awkward, purple sweater, onion breath guy who had been trying to date his sister.

He run into the house informing this most desireable girl that Maynard was outside.

Now can you believe, she came running out with a smile that would melt an iceberg. From this date and foreward she was my girl, later on July 12th, 1936 this most desireable girl became my wife.

O! I foregot to tell you who this most desireable girl is, well she is now my wife of 57 years, "Hildegard Sandberg".

You know these 57 years have been most productive, with five of the most wonderfull kids you could ever want, then in turn they gave us 13 grandkids, then to this date the grandkids have given us 21 great grandkids.

We are hoping that this letter will find each one of you healthy and happy.

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a good nite.

---- Maynard + Hilde ----

---

posted by Steve at 12/24/2003 12:14:00 AM

A Very Züri Christmas Long before the Züri G'schnäzlets, I emailed out the longer-form Zurich Bericht (which I've long-promised to put on-line ... that's a resolution for 2004). Looking back in my archives, I see I haven't actually written a Zurich Bericht this entire year. I rectified that problem ... and produced the Zurich Bericht Christmas Special. Not only that, but it's an audio message of my favorite Christmas story ... moved like me, to Switzerland.

The Zurich Bericht goes out by email. If you aren't on the mailing list for the Zurich Bericht then drop me an email and request to be put on the list! And, of course, find it on-line here.
posted by Steve at 12/21/2003 09:38:00 PM

S'märklii Update I've been flirting with the nice Oma that works the cash register at the Coop. And she's been slipping me an extra märklii. Which just goes to show ...

... It's the small things in life, isn't it.
posted by Steve at 12/11/2003 09:28:00 PM

Our ever-more popular right-wing parties campaigned against recognizing all religions equally with the campaign "Tax Money for Koran School? Vote No!". Although neither the current law nor the proposed law allows state or federal funds to be used for religious education. HandyCam Photo: Steve Holyer

Medi's From Doctors, Just Not Nice Jewish Ones The Swiss people spoke on Sunday, and they will allow pharmacists and doctors to dispense medication. (Some readers of my previous post thought that the proposed law would require the residents to go to the pharmacy every time they had to pop a pill; perhaps I wasn't so clear - the proposed law would allow doctors to dispense a full course of medication to sick patients in order to save them a trip to the pharmacy. Switzerland is one of the least socialized countries in Europe and isn't going to get into the business of handing out individual doses of medication three times a day.) But doctor's in faith-based clinics won't get government assistance to dispense those pills if they aren't good Christians. You see there was also an initiative on the ballot that would require the government to recognize Jewish, Islamic and other religious groups as state religions. Currently the state only recognizes Roman Catholic, Old-Order Catholic, and Protestant organizations as state religions. When you register as a resident of a neighborhood in Zurich, you have to declare your faith. Then, a portion of your taxes are sent to your faith's church. Thing is Judaism and Islam-ism (not to mention Seventh Day Advent-ism or other -isms) aren't recognized as faiths. The current law (and the defeated proposed-law) requires that any government monies received by a recognized church organizations must be used for social services (this includes, I think, member weddings and funerals) - in other words "Faith-based Initiatives". Using the funds for religious education is expressly prohibited,and there is a very long process a group from a recognized faith must go through to receive the government funds. This did not stop the right-wing parties from launching a "keep the state church Christian campaign" (my words) against the initiative. The campaign consisted of posters saying "Tax Money for Koran School? Vote No" and other attempts to say that the voters shouldn't vote to fund non-Christian religious education. Both confusing the issue, and implying that tax money for Bible school is OK.

The result of the vote (which was pretty strongly against recognizing non-Catholic/non-Protestant groups) will probably lead some of the non-recognized religions to take their case (which now looks like religious discrimination) to the Swiss courts. (I haven't heard anyone bring up the PR disaster of a group of German-speaking people refusing to recognize Jews - so far be it from me to mention it.) The Swiss courts, according to the Swiss press I read, are likely to eventually rule that the Church and State must be separated and then government funding of faith-based organizations will stop.

It's funny, that Switzerland has never had separation of Church and State and it has always been one of the first guarantees of the United States of America. Until now. Zürich's refusal to recognize all faith-based organizations equally may lead to greater Separation of Church and State, while I see (thanks to Tivo) that Mr. Bush was in Dallas recently to celebrate his own efforts to join Church and State. And where did he celebrate? He celebrated from the pulpit of an old-time religion Christian church. The Swiss have now at least tacitly acknowledged that when tax monies are going to faith-based programs then faith-based groups can potentially use tax money to promote their faith. But then that puts the government into the business of deciding which faiths' efforts are valid and worthwhile to promote and which ones are not. The Swiss government has always been in that business and may soon be forced out of it. And President Bush is pulling the US government into that business. That's something to think about. It's a slippery slope ... a slippery slope.

more facts:
this initiative is on a kantonal (or state) level
in Kanton Zürich
Kanton Zürich has one of the more conservative church/state laws

Zürich's law (and the proposed law) require churches receiving money:
... be democratically organized
... prohibit foreigners from joining the church as a voting-member

other German-speaking Kantons currently recognize some other faiths such as Judaism
only a few of the French-speaking Kantons (i.e. Geneva) recognize all faiths equally

read more about it: www.swissinfo.org

Martyr's Mirror On the Wall ... Meanwhile, when I registered, I declared that I was konfessionslos which means none of my tax money is earmarked for a specific church (and that I will have to pay extra to be married, or buried, in Switzerland). I figured it was the Mennonite thing to do. ... I also go down to the government building on the Limmat each payday, shake my fist up at the twin towers of the Grossmuenster Cathedral, and cry - "You won't baptize me Reformed Church of Switzerland ... you, you - ZWINGLI-ists!" So far no-one has shown up to drown me in the river, though lately I've noticed some men in white coats watching me.
posted by Steve at 12/09/2003 09:10:00 PM

The Monday Funnies

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson Monday, December 8, 1992


For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston Monday, December 8, 2003


Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Monday, December 8, 2003

all linked from The uComics Web Site
the self proclaimed "Best Comic Site In The Universe!" - check em out!
posted by Steve at 12/08/2003 09:03:00 PM

Ich bin auch eine Hausfrau Today marks a transition, because today marks the first day that I am officially standing in the unemployment line. My former employer, EDS, decided to improve the bottom line by cutting some employees loose. They decided to make me redundant and wham I found myself without a job. Actually, I was notified all the way back on August 30. As you've probably heard the European socialized labor laws protects it's employees. My contract required a three-months notice period so I've been on the payroll until now. Actually, I had to work for the first weeks of September, but I sent my boss a request asking to be released from the obligation to come sit at my desk - since I didn't think it was quite fair to be told my skills weren't required and at the same time to be asked to design a new strategic product for the company! At any rate, I've not actually been to work now for a couple months (which allowed me to extend my previously mentioned South African Holiday). And I have to say I've been loving it. I have been asking myself how anyone goes to work. My day goes something like this: Wake up in the morning, feel like it's school holidays (if only this had happened during this last - most glorious summer - Zürich has seen in years), eat breakfast, make a quick pass at cleaning up the house, make a concentrated effort to find a job, make lunch (brown sox and cheese sandwiches which are -who knew- a Swiss staple), continue making a concentrated effort to find a job while wishing I COULD watch the soaps and eat Swiss Bon-Bons, then finally do some grocery shopping, and cook a delicious supper meal before beginning my varied evenings' entertainment programs. Now my budget is sharply reduced (although I won't feel the crunch for another month), but the Swiss social insurances (namely the insurance for the arbeitslosen) do provide for one to live decently on 70% of my last real salary per month for a period of a year and a half while finding work (did I mention the European welfare states).

Coop's Sammel-märklii Collection Card: It's better than Green Stamps

My next challenge is renewing my residence permit in February which is tied to my employment - but as I have been paying hefty taxes into the social system I should be allowed to live in the country to benefit from the same services.


When I do my daily shopping: Not only do I stock up on Cola Light, but I take advantage of Coops "Green Stamp"-like program. For a period of four months starting in September when I lost my job, every ten dollars spent at the register nets a "cook top" märklii. Each märklii is a little sticker that (when peeled off the backing paper) makes a round little cover to a cooking pan. When matched to the pictures of empty topless cooking pans printed on the collection card, twenty märklii's (plus 20 francs) nets one pan from a collection of Swiss-quality kitchen pans from Swiss manufacturer Sigg Casa.

I just realized that filling one collection card with twenty märklii's is the highlight of my week. Maybe it is time to find a job.
posted by Steve at 12/01/2003 02:53:00 PM

I've attempted to leave this blog in the state it was in early 2006 as a historical artifact, but Google broke my original Archive page. What you see above is a quick reconstruction to rebuild some archive functionality without altering the original blog layout (or researching too deeply into Blogspot).

Original Contents Copyright 2002 - J. Stephen Holyer. All Rights Reserved.