Friday, December 25, 2020

CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and safe holiday to all. 

If you can, please contribute to the fund set up  by my former colleague  Jonas Abramson for the family of Jeremy Briones, a student I taught at Middle College High School. Jeremy tragically passed away earlier this month. 

The other school I was a teacher at was Jamaica High School. I miss Jamaica HS so much at this time of year. On the last morning before the winter vacation, many of the staff would sing holiday songs. This picture is from 2011. Thanks to Ibeth Mejia for sending it out.

Last night, for the first time in years, I got all sentimental and watched It's a Wonderful Life. The year has taken a toll on so many. I needed some hope. The buildup and the ending still move me after so many times seeing this film. Merry Christmas. Please stay safe.



11 comments:

  1. The bank scene in It's a Wonderful Life where George Bailey convinces everyone not to take their money at once. This is from a Christian socialist website.

    George’s explanation of the bank’s workings is less about fiduciary processes and more about the quality of the community. "Well, your money's in Joe's house, that's right next to yours, and the Kennedy house and Mrs. Macklin's house and 100 others," he tells the townspeople. He emphasizes their shared experiences by saying, “You’re lending them the money to build and they’re going to pay it back to you as best they can.” George punctuates his words by pointing to the crowd, underscoring their responsibility to one another before asking, “What are you gonna do, foreclose on them?”

    The emotional stakes of the moment make the answer clear: no, they shouldn’t. The scene’s celebratory denouement, in which George and the employees dance with the two remaining dollars, isn’t about the Baileys staying in business. They celebrate because the people did the right thing. “We can get through this thing alright,” George tells his neighbors, “we’ve got to stick together, though. We’ve got to have faith in each other.”

    Same for union.

    Merry Christmas all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Merry Christmas, James.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Merry Christmas James, to you and your family. You truly are a great person. Thank you for helping me and so many teachers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Merry Christmas to you and yours Bronx ATR.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Merry Christmas James and family. May God bless you and your loved ones.
    Peace and blessings to all!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You too W4S. We missed you lately. Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas and your family too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have a great holiday and new years James Like I always seem to mention, extra grateful for you ever since Chaz tragically left too soon.

    I know you have not missed me as much as WFS haha. Enjoy the time with your fam.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You have a great holiday and happy new year too Anon2323. I miss Chaz too. We worked together at Jamaica HS for years and called each other right up to earlier this year. I think I have mentioned how we bounced ideas off each other.

    WFS is my support sometimes when I feel outnumbered on my own blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Commenters,

    I am completely convinced after seeing multiple same old stuff comments on this post that some of you don't bother to read the original posts. This post was about the Christmas spirit. If you don't feel like commenting on that, then put the usual complaints on a different post. It isn't difficult to stay at least near the topic, particularly when the topic is Christmas. Accuse me of censorship all you like but do it away from my little Christmas piece. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete


  10. Cheers to Eric C's memory. I'll miss his "Annual Turkey Awards".

    ReplyDelete

●Comments are moderated.
●Kindly use your Google account. ●Anonymous comments only from Google accounts.
●Please stay on topic and use reputable sources.
●Irrelevant comments will not be posted.
●Try to be respectful; we are professionals.