SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

GOODNESS – FROM NPR:    Most restaurants close their doors for Christmas day, but one is leaving theirs wide open: Shish Restaurant in southeast London.  On Dec. 25, they will be serving free, three-course meals to the homeless and elderly.  The idea came after an emotional encounter between two of the managers and an elderly woman.  "What she said was, 'On Christmas day, I'm going to be alone,' " Manager Irfan Can Genc tells NPR's Allison Aubrey on All Things Considered. "When [the other manager] told me about this I was like, 'Look, we need to sit down. No one should be alone on a special day like this.' "  So they took a piece of paper and wrote a simple sign saying, "No one eats alone on a Christmas Day! We are here to sit with you."  A great spirit. 

ABSURD – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   Sometimes it seems the word “Christmas” is like poison to universities. This latest example is no exception.  The University of California Riverside recently hosted a “Staff Assembly Holiday Hoedown,” and pictures posted on the institution’s website show organizers bent over backward to make sure it could not be accused of being a Christmas party.  “Handkerchiefs, boots, and cowboy hats set the stage for the 2016 Staff Assembly Holiday Hoedown, which treated about 400 employees to an afternoon of games, food, dancing, and prizes,” reports Inside UCR. “This year’s holiday party — featuring live music by Gold Rush Country — took place on Dec. 16 at the HUB.”  The tables were decked with red and white handkerchiefs and some straw. Many guests wore cowboy hats and flannel shirts. A photo opportunity area was adorned with haystacks. The only thing that denoted Christmas were a few white strands of lights and some small wreaths, but they were carefully flanked by Texas Longhorn skulls.  How intellectual.  How deep.  These universities have the intellectual maturity of eight-year-olds.

A GREAT CHRISTMAS STORY – FROM CBS:  Much too long to repeat here, but do read it.  One of the best Christmas stories I've read.

December 24, 2016