Sunday Drive: We Three Kings

 A favorite old Christmas carol, as performed by Clamavi De Profundis:

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

Second Sunday after Christmas Day

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Merry Christmas to All 2025

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the Feast of

Christmas Day

Madonna and Child by Il Sassoferrato, circa 1650

Well, fellas, Christmas has come round again, with its timeworn message of peace, goodwill to men.  A message this old world desperately needs to hear - but is anyone listening?  

As I've been preparing this post, I've tried to think of how to express what Christmas means to me, but my sluggish old man's brain has been slow to respond.  However, I happily discovered that I already said those things in this Christmas post from 2022, if anyone cares to read it.

Sadly, Christmas at our house is not as merry and bright as it has been in Christmases past. For one reason or another, none of M.P.'s family are coming to enjoy the usual big Yule feast with us.  So no need for all that cooking, baking, and decorating: a single wreath over the fireplace is enough.  But M.P.  has begun preparations for our smaller Christmas dinner a deux, probably on Sunday, which will feature his luscious Red Cajun Duck, a real bell-ringer.  I do wish some of my truckbuddies lived nearer, so we could invite them over for a really festive dinner now and then. 

Anyway, I wish all my truckbuddies a very Merry Christmas with the ones they love.  Here's one of my favorite Christmas songs in a thrilling a cappella version by Heart that I just now discovered.  Crank it up, sit back, and enjoy.

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Bonus:  Pope Leo delivers a brilliant and beautiful homily during Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica:

This is the Christian faith.

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Merry Christmas to All 2024

Good boy or bad boy, Santa's got something for you!

Here's wishing Christmas cheer and peace of mind to all my truckbuddies.

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Christmas Eve 2023

It's a cold, wet, dreary day in Texas, but M.P. and I are snug and warm in our little bungalow, grateful for all the quiet blessings we have been given.  We send our best wishes for Christmas cheer and warmth to all our truckbuddies, along with a prayer for peace on earth, goodwill to men.

My truckbuddy Frank's niece, Andrea De Francesco, has recorded this gorgeous performance of "O Holy Night" that blew me away.  I think you'll like it.

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Merry Christmas 2022

Madonna and Child by Il Sassoferrato, 1674. 

Another Christmas has arrived, another year has passed.  When I was a little boy, it seemed that Christmas took forever to get here, and the wait was awful.  Now it seems more and more that Christmases just fly by, like transit stops, and are gone before you have time to register the fact.

But amid all the changes and chances of this frantic modern world, Christmas endures as a fixed point in everyone's life, even for non-believers, and its traditions are remarkably steadfast:  the Christmas tree loaded with decorations and lights, presents wrapped in all manner of glittering ways, lights in the windows and on the roof, a gargantuan feast of all sorts of delicacies that "we always have" at this time, and for most folks, a houseful of family and friends, all ages, at least for Christmas dinner.  It has been said that "you can't go home again," and in a certain sense that is very true; but even so, Christmas remains the one day of the year that you just must "go home again," even if you don't particularly want to.  And, sadly, some people don't.  For others, there is no longer any "home" to go to.

But for most, Christmas dinner is a love feast, a few hours of merriment, remembrance, and affection, a joyful reconnection with the people we love most.  In Christian terms, it typifies at the family table the Feast of the Incarnation that we celebrate in church - or would, if our infirmities did not prevent us from doing so.  That magnum mysterium - God becoming a man - a baby - born to a human mother, not in a palace but in a stable full of animals and all their smells - with not even a cradle to lie in, but a manger - a feed trough, we might say - the great humility and tender love of the Creator for his creatures, shown in the humblest possible circumstances.  In the golden words of the Communion Prayer, which means so much to me (emphasis mine):

Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us

for yourself, and, when we had fallen into sin and become

subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus

Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human

nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.

A breathtaking thought!  People around the world worship many gods, but I know of no other religion which proclaims that God Himself became man and dwelt among us.  And not to lord it over us or live in royal state, but to fail miserably, as the world accounts failure, abandoned by his friends and condemned to a brutal death, as the prayer I just quoted continues:

He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself,

in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole

world.

And so death was not the end of the story, but the beginning - the divine paradox at work here is rather typical of God, actually:  the first shall be last, and the last shall be first, and so on.  And from that inglorious end, from that glorious beginning, countless millions of believers have drawn comfort and hope in every sort of adversity, and strength to do good works of all sorts at all times and places; to spend their lives in loving, humble service to God and their neighbors, according to the light they had.

A humble faith gives meaning and purpose to even the most obscure life.  Of course, not every Christian life is a successful one - but by Our Lord's own example, we may understand that what seems a useless failure to worldly eyes is perhaps not quite so worthless in the sight of Heaven.  I was struck by something the dear old Queen said in one of her recent Christmas broadcasts, which appears on the sidebar of my blog, and has become a light in my heart:

We cannot all do great things; 

but we can do small things with great love.

To which I would add, Keep on; do what you can.  Our small efforts may not seem like much in the world's eyes or in the scheme of the universe; but He whose eye is on the sparrow will surely value them at a higher rate, if done for love's sake.  Because that is what the Christian religion is all about:  God is Love.  The love of parent and child; of brothers and sisters; of spouses and neighbors and friends; of all mankind, rich and poor, high and low alike; the Love that moves the stars, as the poet says.

That is what Christmas means to me:  the remembrance of a profound act of love by God for us foolish, faithless, selfish human beings, which gave us the means of grace in this life and the hope of glory in the next.  Even if you do not believe the story is true - and I do not say anyone must - you can still, I hope, appreciate it as a magnificent piece of poetry, a feast for the soul, and a light in the darkness, which this rough old world is always in need of.  We would do well to keep the feast in our hearts all the year through.

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Well, there's your Christmas sermon in case you don't make it to midnight mass.  But having gotten that off my chest, I wish a very Merry Christmas to Tim, Frank, Davis, and all my other truckbuddies - God bless us, every one!

Our new 7.5-foot tree (cost only $25), with a rotating star
 full of rainbow-colored lights.

Our happy little hacienda in a rainbow of colored lights; the pic does not convey the real beauty.  All of these new-fangled lights are quite bright and distinct from one another, though they appear to blur together in the photo.  Some of them in the windows and around the eaves twinkle.

P. S. - Go hear Frank's very talented niece singing "O Holy Night."

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Merry Christmas 2021

M.P. outdid himself this year with the Christmas lights, which took a week to string up.  Some stranger even left an anonymous note of appreciation on our doorstep.

Here's wishing a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my truckbuddies.  Thanks for riding along with me in the Blue Truck. 

A few of my favorite Christmas tunes sung by some of my favorite artists:

 

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Merry Christmas 2020

Credo quia pulchrum est.

The Adoration of the Shepherds, by
Gerard van Honthorst, ca. 1622.  Click to enlarge.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

and was made man . . .

to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, 

to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.

The Gramophone Ghana Chorus sings out the good news with joy:

 

It has been a year of unexpected changes, great and small; and even Christmas is being celebrated differently this year by many people around the world, though the spirit of the season is still evident if one has eyes to see it.  

After a toilsome week of cleaning up the messes left by successive Christmas parties at his school, M.P. rested a bit at home and then got busy once again stringing lights on the front of the house, and decorating the living/dining room with a truckload of abandoned poinsettias he brought home from work.  Now it looks a bit like a Christmas garden in there, considering it was already filled up with all the outside potted plants that we are sheltering indoors for the winter - a couple of them are as tall as I am.

M.P. has also given the main rooms a Christmas cleaning, though not quite as thoroughly as usual, because this year his children and grandchildren are not coming for the annual Yule dinner at Papaw's house; after a good deal of dithering and twittering and what-shall-we-do-ing, the group mind finally settled on each family staying home and cooking for themselves.  Which is a prudent decision for all concerned, old and young; but M.P. had already laid in supplies of Christmas foods that he was not about to let go to waste, including a nice fat duck, and a ham that he produced himself by curing and smoking a piece of ordinary pork loin - which seems a miracle to me.  

So on Monday evening, the day of the winter solstice and, this year, the remarkable Great Conjunction - a fascinating sight in the southwestern sky - M.P. after much cheffing around in the kitchen served up a luscious Yule dinner for just us two, and here are the pics to prove it.  Of course, the proof is in the eating, but you just have to take my word for it that every single bite was deee-licious.

From 5 o'clock:  apricot-glazed ham (so tender it fell apart in cutting); succulent roast duck leg; deep-fried diced parsnips (like potatoes, but slightly sweeter); creamed sweet potatoes; spinach-cheese casserole; and a deep-fried biscuit, crispy outside and oh-so-buttery inside.

Of course, we have been re-heating and re-eating this same meal ever since, delightedly.  But there is more to come from the depths of the pantry and deep freeze:  On Friday M.P. will bestir himself to cook a proper Christmas dinner; then next week, a New Year's dinner; and the week after that, a King's Day dinner, with I hope, a nice King's Cake to top things off.  And your Head Trucker, being also Head Dishwasher of this joint, will do his part to keep kitchen operations rolling along.

Yesterday M.P. spent the whole day boxing and wrapping presents for his progeny (4 adult children, 3 spouses at the moment, and 4 little tykes), including all sorts of fascinating toys and dolls and whaddayacallits that toddle and coo and go root-a-toot-toot.  Later today he will drop them off, and then come back to put up our Christmas tree.  (While he is gone, I will wrap the few presents I got for him.)  On the big day, there will be a family Zoom conference to watch the unwrappings at the various houses, which for parents is the climax of all their endeavors.  How lucky we all are to live in an age of such technological miracles.

And so Christmas is not ruined at all, just a little different this year; I do hope by next Christmas things can get back to the usual routine - busy but comforting in the endless procession of the years.  And I hope all of my truckbuddies are enjoying some Christmas cheer right now - though you may be apart from your loved ones, and perchance even Zoomless, you can still be united in spirit.  And I believe that, come what may in this mortal life, nothing can ever separate us from the eternal Love that moves the stars, and moves our willing hearts, by whatever name you call it.

I am thankful for the quiet good cheer M.P. and I share here in our humble circumstances, with general health and finances stable at the moment; as we have both reflected, it would be a sad thing, growing older, to eat alone day after day.  It's harder to cook for one than for two.  So we celebrate what we have with grateful hearts.  I'll close these rambling thoughts now with some musical selections that sum up the meaning and the joy of Christmas for me.  My prayers go up for peace on this troubled earth and goodwill among men all over the world;  and from our house to all of yours, we send best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the Feast of 

Christmas Day

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Merry Christmas to All, 2019

Here's wishing good health and good cheer to all my truckbuddies around the world - and peace on earth for everyone.

The Royal Navy Wants YOU

This just in:  Christmas greetings from the officers and crew of HMS Ocean, formerly the flagship of the Royal Navy.



Most amusing, to be sure. But more than that, I dare not say.

Sunday Drive: The Holly and the Ivy

A favorite of M.P.'s:  the traditional English carol, as performed by American pianist George Winston with wondrous style and speed.

Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent

Sunday Drive: Christmas Is Coming

The Blue Truck is now back online after a week-long and strangely unfathomable internet outage. Funny how something that 20 years ago we had no concept of, and never even thought about, is now so necessary to household happiness, all day every day. (Oh Mary, don't ask.)

But to get this blog back on track:  by request, the well-known theme from A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio:

Merry Christmas 2016

This week, my housemate M.P., who is more in tune with the younger set, has introduced me to this remarkable a cappella group, who apparently have made a record or two and are trying to break into the music business; love their sound, but this old fuddy-duddy can't stand to look at them.

(Kids these days, with their outlandish hair and weird clothes, sheesh! What is the world coming to?)

See what you think, fellas - and meanwhile, from our house to yours, have a very merry Christmas.

So This Is Christmas 2015

Our little hacienda, all lit up for Christmas.

Well, fellas, it's been a momentous year in many ways, not the least of which is the legalization of marriage for all across this U. S. of A. - so I picked this song to express what's in my heart and send it out to all of my truckbuddies with good wishes for a very merry Christmas.

Here where I live, we are especially grateful for all our blessings, as last night M.P. in his little Hyundai was hit by a truck full of giggling girls doing 60 across an intersection. But thanks be to God, they only clipped his front fender instead of ramming him broadside, so he was completely unhurt. We'll be carless until next week, but it could have been so much worse, you know? So give those you love an extra hug today, fellas, and be careful out there.

Eva Cassidy, Silent Night

A poignant rendition from an angelic voice stilled much too soon.

From small-town Texas, your Head Trucker says Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Merry Christmas

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

--John 1:5

To all my truckbuddies near and far, whether in good company or alone, and whatever your faith or lack of it: I wish you all the joy and peace and love your hearts can hold, this night and always.

All I Want for Christmas Is You, Sailor

Okay, back to the question of the younger generation:  how fucking gay is this?  Performed by the crew of HMS Ocean, pride of the Royal Navy:

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Gotta love it:



To download the song:

Itunes Link
Amazon Link

Note: For many long years, I've wished somebody or somebodies would do a gay update on all the old standards (and not just holiday tunes). Maybe it will happen someday.