A few years after I left my secondary school in Manchester, I was invited to help out with the school's Christmas Fair and I decided to have a go at being Father Christmas. I had recently grown my first full beard and thought that I would enter into the role by rubbing flour into my growth. Though I say it myself, I looked rather splendid and certainly I attracted lots of custom.
A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for 40 days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.
We come, O Lord, these Autumn days,
With hymns of gratitude and praise.
Harvest of gold the plains adorn,
Rich fruits roll forth from Plenty’s horn;
Thou givest treasures from the rocks;
The little hills are clothed with flocks;
The seas are with their burden white,
And new Thy mercies day and night.
For changing seasons as they go,
For Autumn leaf, for Winter’s snow,
For the green verdure of the Spring,
For life in plant and life on wing,
If we could reduce the worlds population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:
60 Asians
14 Africans
12 Europeans
8 Latin Americans
5 US Americans and Canadians
49 would be female- 51 would be male
82 would be non-white- 18 white
89 heterosexual- 11 homosexual
33 would be Christian- 67 would be non-Christian
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,ÔÇ¿
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.ÔÇ¿ÔÇ¿
He said, "Please excuse me too;ÔÇ¿
I wasn't watching for you."ÔÇ¿ÔÇ¿
We were very polite, this stranger and I.ÔÇ¿
We went on our way and we said goodbye.ÔÇ¿ÔÇ¿
But at home a different story is told,ÔÇ¿
How we treat our loved ones, young and oldÔÇ¿ÔÇ¿.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,ÔÇ¿
My son stood beside me very still.ÔÇ¿ÔÇ¿
I've never made a fortune,
and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow.
And as I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.
Haven't got a lot of riches,
and sometimes the going's tough.
But I've got loving ones all around me,
and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings,
and the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,