I've been keeping a computer sabbath of a sort the past couple of weeks, so I missed the "breaking news" portion of this thread...and yet, I didn't. I somehow settled on the Revels "Wassail, Wassail" recording as my favourite seasonal music during Advent this year. Jean's singing and her wonderful story of a blizzard-foraged Christmas tree brought nourishment to my hungry soul amidst the season's flimsier, falser commercial trappings.

My mother wrote from across the country, telling me she was in need of Christmas cheer...so I ordered a copy of the CD and sent it to her. In our two distant habitations, we both wrapped ourselves in Jean Ritchie's bardic gifts--as inspiring as a star in the winter sky, as comforting as a grandmother's quilt.

Jean, my sister suffers a complex neurological condition which has made her essentially nonverbal, and yet she is a brilliant poet. May everyone around you be deeply aware of your still-strong wisdom and shimmering brilliance, no matter what you may or may not be able to marshall your body to do.

New Year's Blessings to all of us, in the unending circle of Story and Song!!!

A h-uile beannachd oirbh (Blessings!)

--Cuilionn