On Christmas eve, I went out the the Church of the Brethren for the Church service. The service was broadcast on the radio, so they had a packed church, rather than the usual dozen members. I sang "Beautiful Star of the East" (Look it up at Cyberhymnal.org, it's a great song), accompanying myself on tenor guitar. I also sang a duet with the pastor's wife, a verse of Silent Night in spanish, a language I don't speak and which we rehearsed once about 30 minutes before the service started. I only mispronounced one word (forgot that two l's are pronounced like a y). On the way home I stopped at the Quik-chek and got some chicken tenders and macaroni salad for supper, then checked out the Mudcat and started two new Xmas threads, then went to bed.
In the morning I opened up some presents that came in the mail the day before, then went to work. (the other two guys I work with have kids, so I take Thanksgiving and let them have Christmas). My big assignment, directing traffic during the annual reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware with his troops didn't happen, since the river was flooding, the current was too strong, and there were a lot of uprooted trees coming down the river. The same thing happened last year, so again, we have another year of British rule, driving on the wrong side of the road, eating boiled meat, pronouncing the "t" in "Fillet", and talking with funny accents. For the rest of the day I drove my usual patrol route. Nothing unusual happened, and no laws were broken. For dinner, my room mate cooked shrimp scampi. Later, I watched the news, then played on my computer, then went to bed.I'll call my mom and younger brother in South Carolina today.

My older brother and his wife went to Paris a few months ago, so I knew one of my presents would be from France. I got a bag of French candy - some gummy-textured sugar coated squares that taste like Listerine. I guess the French really do hate us.

Thanks to everyone in the Delaware Valley for making my day at work an easy one, and Merry Christmas/Happy New Year to all you Mudcatters.

Steve