A Christmas Story

2022 - 12 - 24

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Yellowhammer News"

'A Christmas Story' has an Alabama connection (Yellowhammer News)

Melinda Dillon, who played Ralphie's mother in the film, was raised in Cullman. The movie is about one young boy named Ralphie who wants the “Holy Grail” of ...

She also was cast in “Slapshot” with Paul Newman. In 1963, she received a Tony Award nomination for her role “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” She was nominated by the Academy for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in 1977 and “Absence of Malice” in 1981. The movie is about one young boy named Ralphie who wants the “Holy Grail” of Christmas gifts, an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, with a compass in the stock and “this thing which tells time” (a sundial).”

A Christmas Story From 'the Prince of Preachers' (Foundation for Economic Education)

The English pastor's works were burned in the American south because they spoke against the evils of slavery—yet they inspired a slave who would eventually ...

Spurgeon: The People’s Preacher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKYQW5KB40U) (movie) [Through the Eyes of Spurgeon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6R96XhPaA) (video documentary) [Tethered to the Cross: The Life and Preaching of Charles H. I close with the following small sample and a hearty wish to you and yours for a very Merry Christmas! "Is it not proven beyond all dispute that there is no limit to the enormities which men will commit when they are once persuaded that they are keepers of other men's consciences? His written words were provocative enough to stoke the anger of a hundred townspeople in the late hours of a holiday evening. London descended into passionate mourning of a man the capital city had come to love as much as Thomas Johnson did. His sermons were bold enough to spark a two-story fire in the middle of the town square in Richmond, Virginia. Carter and Ivey report that “Charles savored and kept each letter in a neat stack in the bottom drawer of his study desk.” When Charles died in 1892, Thomas, in tears, was at his bedside. So—right before I threw that paper into the fire—a big ol’ smile crept up on my face and I thought—‘I sure would like to hear that man preach one day!’”…Charles reeled with delight, amused by the Lord’s sense of humor. Known variously as “the quintessential Victorian Englishman,” “the pulpit’s most spellbinding orator,” “London’s most famous, beloved, and influential man of the cloth,” and “the Prince of Preachers,” he left behind volumes of sermons and articles (as well as an autobiography) almost too numerous to count. Thomas Johnson was born a slave in Virginia in 1836 and lived in bondage for twenty-eight years until the conclusion of the Civil War. Every year on this day as he finalized what he would offer in his next sermon, he reveled in the spirit of the season. Philip Ort writes of his affection for the holiday:

Rockaway resident recounts time as a 'A Christmas Story' extra (Tillamook Headlight-Herald)

Mike Kukral poses for a photo with Darren McGavin, who plays Mr. Parker (The Old Man), on the set of “A Christmas Story” in 1982 in Cleveland, Ohio.

A Christmas story: Jesus in a shopping mall (Charlotte Observer)

A Christmas story: A former Opinion page editor from NC recounts a chance meeting in a Miami mall that brought a Bible verse to life.

And he said, “I think you are Jesus.” In my pocket I had a $20 bill that I intended to spend on a shirt. He was a thin, pleasant-looking man in his mid-30s, but his hair was tousled and he needed a shave. Then he put the money in his pocket and walked away. I sensed he intended to ask for something. In my younger days I focused on the uncertainties. As I looked at shirts I could feel the throng of shoppers bustling nearby. As my list of questions grew to rival my list of answers, I experienced my share of internal tensions between belief and doubt. I don’t see angels in the clouds or hear God speaking in the ocean’s roar or the gurgle of the Mr. I looked up to see a young man emerge from the crowd and zero in on me. I am comforted by the knowledge that others also engage in that struggle. I see myself simply as a beneficiary of God’s grace.

A Christmas Story: 60 years for a Northside Music story (Journal & Courier)

John Mills holds in his hands the magic to fix pianos and organs that represent a moment in time, bound to one's soul, restoring them to a point that reflects ...

The broken will be made whole through the skillful hands of John or one of his descendants. “We were able to fix most of its problem, and we got down to a chip that was not available," he said. "The people that did services for them also went out of business. "Not just pianos, organs, digital pianos, or pipe organs, but you look at the things we do, in our culture. “They tried to hire the people that sold it to them, but they went out of business," he said. The brothers' business slowly became one of Indiana's premiere spots for piano restorations. And so, the chips aren’t available,” Mills said. That old farmhouse became the piano repair shop. Elizabeth Hospital on the north end of town — hence the name “Northside Music Co.” When it comes to those once-in-a-lifetime pianos, Mills understands the responsibility of handling delicate items. He even roped his brother, Dick Mills, into working at the shop. The Mills' business offers 600 pianos for sale.

A Christmas Story: Remembering the Final Game at Municipal ... (chiefs.com)

Lamar Hunt called 1971 team “the best we've ever had in Kansas City”

The Chiefs had never played a home playoff game at Municipal and would not host one again in Kansas City until 1991. "It was one of the three or four most memorable games I've been involved in. The Dolphins had lost in the playoffs the previous year and went on to lose in the Super Bowl to Dallas after the win in Kansas City. He said of that team: "1971 was the best team we've ever had in Kansas City," but ever the promoter of his beloved AFL, he recognized that the game's outcome also signaled "the emergence of the [Miami] Dolphins as a great team." The team was well respected that year having appeared and won two Monday Night contests when those games reigned as television's most watched programming. The defense was tops as was the kicking game with place kicker Jan Stenerud and punter Jerrel Wilson.

From the Archives: A Christmas Story (2000) (High Times)

At the finale of the Christmas show last year in Eugene, OR, I came out as a skid-row Santa, complete with rubber nose, plastic sack full of beer cans, ...

His bus was laid up for a couple of hours: “I think they’re getting the Greyhound spayed before she gets to [California](https://hightimes.com/news/psychedelics-decriminalization-bill-introduced-by-california-lawmaker/).” At the restaurant, my mother wanted to know what I was thinking about that gave me such a goofy grin. We’d done a couple of hours in the malls, and I was shopped out. “And a quarter? Let’s get out of the rain and see what kind of medicine you’ve got sticking out of your pocket.” He wheeled around and had my wrist clamped in a bone-breaking grasp before I could finish the word. He was in the old fountain’s basin, bent in a concealing crouch at one of the potted pines. I ducked my head and kept walking in the rain. The last I saw of him, he was scurrying away, looking for a hole. I swung in and held the bucket out the window. At the finale of the Christmas show last year in Eugene, OR, I came out as a skid-row Santa, complete with rubber nose, plastic sack full of beer cans, and a pint of peppermint schnapps to fortify the holiday spirit. I also borrowed my wife Faye’s blue egg bucket and labeled it: “Homeless.” I’d jangle the cans like a bagful of aluminum sleigh bells while I worked the mainfloor aisle seats: “Hey, come on, buddy.