Make room for whom there was no room

Sunday, December 22, 2013

This Christmas, I'm thinking of tinsel. One of the strongest memories of growing up is seeing the shiny silver strands dangling from the branches of the tree. My wife says in her family of origin, tinsel didn't appear until it was time to open presents. When she and her brothers were allowed to approach the tree on Christmas morning, tinsel -- not seen on Christmas Eve -- now adorned the evergreen. Santa brought it along with gifts from the North Pole. We can't have tinsel today. We have cats. Cats try to eat tinsel but can't process it. It's something to behold pulling undigested tinsel out of the mouth of a feline. Ugh. It's as disgusting as you imagine it is.

To continue reading
For more than 115 years, the Southeast Missourian has written the first draft of local history. We have aspired to enrich, entertain, educate and inform. Our core values have remained firm: truth, service, quality, integrity and community. Support our mission.