Ok, living one's life in the past, the present and the future seems to be an important idea in A Muppet Christmas Carol, which I watched tonight in Chattanooga with Mike, my parents and my sister. (Ask me sometime about how I felt my way through this odd juxtaposition of history and context.) When Scrooge is pleading with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, he pledges to live his life this way, and to "keep" Christmas throughout the year. Can somebody tell me what this looks like? What are they trying to say?
Posted by nickles at December 23, 2004 10:30 PMin the words of that great song sung in "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street:" "Keep Christmas with you all through the year. When Christmas is over, you can keep it near. These precious moments, hold them very dear, and keep Christmas with you all through the year." but in the other Sesame Street Christmas movie Elmo wishes it will be Christmas all year and it turns out to be awful. The authority on muppets and Christmas seems to be unreliable, Bob, trust your gut.
Posted by: linnea at December 23, 2004 11:24 PMI think its saying to remember the past, live for today, and recognize how today affects the future.
Posted by: jkrue at December 24, 2004 01:08 PMOh. I see.
What would I do without my wise friends? And JKrue, I want you to start a second blog. Because I think poetry is not enough. I want the unbridled reflections of your fertile mind! :)
Posted by: bob at December 25, 2004 12:08 PMI think "keeping" Christmas is like "not breaking" Christmas, like with a promise. Don't be somebody different the rest of the year. Like not being a "Sunday" Christian. Let me put some more "quotation" marks here. " " " " "
"Merry Christmas," "Bob!"
Posted by: "tuggy" at December 25, 2004 09:14 PMI can picture you making bunny ear quotes with your index and middle fingers as I read that. Ha!
Yeah, I wonder about the word "keeping," sometimes. How well do we really understand what it means for one to keep one's word? There's something very active – nay, proactive – about that verb.
And this makes me think of my friend ML, who says that speaking the truth means more than saying things that are accurate. Speaking truly means speaking in a fit manner and from a fit position. I think he would applaud my growing understanding of the word "keeping."
He never posts on my blog, by the way, but I know he reads it. "Helloooo! ML! Are you out there?"
...
"Are you just not posting because you think it wouldn't be truthful? I think you're dreadful for trying to avoid this part of Bob! Hello?"
OK, that's enough. I crack myself up, sometimes.
Posted by: at December 28, 2004 12:10 AM