Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

~MERRY CHRISTMAS ~

LOVE YOU ALL ~ DAWN

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897. [See The People’s Almanac, pp. 1358–9.]

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Current Weather Conditions In Fort Wayne, IN (46818)

 

Clear, and -3 ° F.

We're Moving!

Take a look at our new house.

http://photos.tmz.com/galleries/britney_spears_house

Emails...Emails...Emails....

So, I have been receiving an unusual amount of emails lately that say please pass this on so rather than hitting forward a gazillion times - I was looking for something to post anyway. and, for those of you that sent me these emails that say please forward back to the person that sent it to you - well consider it sent. 

1. Please vote for our New Orleans Lighthouse, #6.  Thanks.

Please vote for our New Orleans Lighthouse, #6. The New Canal Lighthouse is historic and was built in the late 1800's. It was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Thanks.

Subject: New Orleans Lakefront Lighthouse-

I'm hoping ya'll will take a sec, (and it only takes a sec) to help out. Our lighthouse on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans was destroyed by Katrina. Built in the 1890s, the lighthouse has been a lakefront landmark for years,guiding boats in and out of the Orleans Marina and the Municipal Yacht Harbor. Some of the original materials were salvaged and they're trying to rebuild it but of course it takes money the city doesn't have right now. There is a company that restores lighthouses and has a contest going on right now to donate new windows and doors for a lighthouse in need of restoration, and the Canal lighthouse is on the list! PLEASE help out and vote for New Orleans!! Thanks ya'll!

<http://www.jeld-wen.com/lighthouse> www.jeld-wen.com/lighthouse - GO INTO THIS LINK - THE GO TO VOTE NOW - SLECT THE Canal lighthouse / Louisiana

Did the composer of this email think that saying ya'll a couple of times would somehow make me want to vote more? and by the way it was obviously a Yankee who wrote it because it is spelled y'all.  Obviously this person has seen Paula Deen one too many times. Ain't that right y'all?

Definitions of yall on the Web:

• Y'all, sometimes incorrectly spelled "Ya'll", "Yawl", or "Yaw", and archaically spelled "You-all", is a fused grammaticalization of the phrase ...
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yall

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2. Be A Bra (This is not a joke!) This is not a mistake - this is how it was sent to me.

Subject: Be A Bra (This is not a joke!)>>>>>>>>>> please sign this petition..........one day after a mastectomy is SO not>> long enough>>>>>>>From a nurse:>> I'll never forget the look in my patients' eyes when I had to tell them>> they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I>> remember begging the Doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer,>> only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance>> companies. So there I sat with my patients, giving them the instructions>> they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't >> grasp>> half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look>> spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank You' they muttered. A mastectomy is >> when>> a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast>> cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know>> that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance >> companies>> are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women>> the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.>>>> It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time>> and do it! Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there >> was>> ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of>> those times.>>>> If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 >> seconds>> to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the>> same. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act >> which>> will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay>> for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the>> 'drive-through' Mastectomy where women are forced to go home just a few>> hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy >> from>> anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.>>>> Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition>> drive to show support. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE!!>> Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give >> more>> than your name, state, and zip code.>>>> (http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php< >> /span> )>>>> This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and >> family,>> and on behalf of all women, THANKS!

Sign the Petition This really isn't a joke...

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3. Important survey

After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here's the  final word on nutrition and health:

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

       4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

       5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like.......

                                        Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

       But don't worry the Government Is Trying To Correct This Problem

 

Do we really need an action group working to declare English the official language of the U.S. ? Uh... what was the official language of the U.S.?  Last time I checked the Constitution was in English, or did I miss something? 

Greetings from Soggy Indiana

Well.. It has definitely been eventful (weather wise) in the Hoosier state. Most of Central and Southern Indiana are still underwater. It is surely going to be a lot of clean up. Please keep the folks in the Mid West in your thoughts and prayers.

Several of our plants in Iowa and Minnesota have been closed due to severe flooding and here in Indiana where it should be green, flowing fields of Corn and Soybeans it now looks like you could grow Rice. It has definitely been a rough start for the farmers. 

A picture of a flooded Soybean Field here in Indiana.

This is what the field should look like!

Think about this:

Today, farmers across the U.S. grow soybeans that have been harvested into yields of about 2 billion bushes a year. About half of U.S. soybeans are exported to major markets including the European Community, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico and South Korea. More soybeans are grown in the U.S. than anywhere else in the
world.

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Tornadoes have been popping up all over the place, as well. Last night, and also on Friday there were warnings very near to us and wind gusts up to 70 mph. Quite a few areas in town still are without power. Luckily our power lines are underground (Can you believe that?) and so we almost never have an issue with downed power lines.  Friday Night the tornado siren went off. I've never been in a tornado, I have no idea what to do...so I grabbed Chloe and hid in the closet. Ha Ha..I know very funny...but you would too, TRUST ME!

Well, I guess that is it for now.

Flora and Flight

Not sure what kind of flowers...I think Rhododendron..The pictures are not that great because Chuckie took the camera to Atlanta so I had to use my camera phone. They are right outside the front door, and are in full bloom. Last year they hardly bloomed at all. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't find a way to kill the bush.

 

The verdict is still out on Chuckie's "Topsy Turvy" tomatoes:

 

FlightSim X Game

This game will annoy the heck out of you! Try to get it out the window.....

Enjoy! http://flightsimx.archive.amnesia.com.au/

My very first blog!

Congratulations! You are reading my very first blog entry. Don't you feel special?

I have no idea why I decided to write a blog, do you?? It was just one of those "well...it seemed like a good idea at the time kind of things". So that is why I have put up a poll. If you want me to update this and you actually might consider reading it then please let me know. I mean I could keep posting to it on the off chance that some random stranger stricken with an incurable case of insomnia would stumble across it at like 2 am on a Saturday night...so if you think I should keep doing it for him/her then vote Yes.

With friends and family all over the place it is hard to keep in touch some times, and with my job if you're not a Soybean or someone who grows or buys Soybeans well...just forget it.

I tried the My Space thing but that just wasn't my "space". Ha Ha...O.K... one more.. .I tried the Face Book thing but that just wasn't my "Book".

Seriously...I would rather just update this every so often as I think of something remotely interesting to share, which surprisingly enough happens from time to time.

And for those of you whom I do call and try to share (MOTHER) and all I get is ..."well I never hear from you"... Keep reading...and...

Now you've heard from me.