It's Good to be a Mime

Hey! happy...er, merry-- uh, blessed...um....wow, sure cold out, isn't it?

There's nothing like political correctness to halt well-wishers in their verbal tracks in December. Back in the Pleistoscene era when I was a kid, we just told everybody 'Merry Christmas!' the way we said 'Bless you!' when they sneezed. Any time between December 1st and Christmas Day it was appropriate. Unlike now, when it could very well land you in the Personnel Office with a religious intolerance complaint.

In the late 50s the Jewish kids kind of faded into the background. Fast-forward to the 70s when Hannukah became hip, blue and white wrapping paper with dreidels blossomed in the stores, and everybody was happy - right? Well...not exactly. The introduction of Kwanzaa enabled African Americans to embrace a holiday of their own, independent of the religions that smacked of servitude and slavery. And hey - here in the land of plenty, there's always room for more!

Now, in the 21st century, we have the U.S. Postal service to thank for making us aware of the Muslim observance of Ramadan, since many were unaware of its existence before the issuance of a commemorative stamp. Its graceful, flowing Arabic script now graces outgoing mail from November to New Years.

And now my favorite...Solstice. We pagans don't have our own stamp yet, but any year on December 21st, the day with the least hours of sunlight, we can be found clustered around bonfires, singing and chanting and drinking something hot and possibly alcoholic. Father Sun has died but he will be reborn and we will celebrate him in full on June 21st when we have the most hours of sunlight to do so. Until then, in the dark cold crisp splendor of December, let me wish you something. But before I do, I ask a favor: please don't seize the well-meaning holiday greetings of others and turn them into personal verbal affronts to which you respond with sarcasm and spite. Whatever your socio-religious trip is, this is NOT the season for animosity.

So, as promised, here's my wish:

Peace. Out.