The Sentinel, Christmasas past and Present 201224

The Sentinel All the news that's fit to print and some that's not.
Farm Christmas 1992 Crashing through the snow In a pickup full of hay Over the fields I go cringing all the way Cows with calves will circle the ring Their bellies will be tight If I can dump this big round bale Among them all tonight Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way I hope my truck will get back up the hill After dumping all this hay	Christmas Shopping 1995 It was just prior to the Christmas time of year There was joy, laughter and words of good cheer There were memories of childhood that brought a happy tear There were memories of shopping that filled me with fear Traffic everywhere, no parking spot to be found The shoppers were scuffling and knocking each other down Clerks were red-eyed, nervous and snarling They were anything but elf like and darling No one was happy with the presents they got Some recipients were downright hot The family was not gleeful sitting around the tree There were stares and glares like an angry white sea Where were the angels from heaven above? Coming to earth with a message of love? That year wasn’t all sweetness and cheer But Christmas is still my favorite time of the year	Christmas 2020       Oh no! This news just in, Santa was busy and forgot to file his flight plan so he along with his reindeer were shot down by F-18 interceptors as they approached the east coast. Parents must break the news to their children gently in order to not cause any more damage to their psyche than necessary. Try to keep the TV sets turned to a channel with Frosty the Snowman and avoid any news outlets. It seems that Santa did deliver presents all over Europe before he and his coursers were hit by missile fire just 30 miles out from the state of Maine. The air force pilots testified Santa was not transmitting his secret friend or foe identification code. But wait! Santa can't really die, he's kind of like forever isn't he? I'll bet there were Coast Guard rescue helicopters out there in short order and picked Santa and his coursers up. Despite the icy cold water of the north Atlantic, I bet Santa was hot under the collar