Where Did It Go?

Inside of every older person is a younger person asking,

“Where Did It Go?”

Vol 2 Nr 12 December 2010

A Fun and Informative Rag for Those Who Have Been Around the Block and Attended at Least One Rodeo

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Sound Holiday AdvicE A 92-year-old, petite, wellpoised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

I love it,’ he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait.’

‘That doesn’t have anything to do with it,’ he replied.

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.

Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.

‘It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account.

You withdraw from it what you’ve put in it.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

The History Of Santa Claus Santa Claus hasn’t always looked like the jolly old fellow we know today. Like so many other American traditions, he’s a product of the great American melting pot - a blend of many different cultures and customs. His earliest ancestors date back to pre-Christian days, when sky-riding gods ruled the earth. The mythological characters Odin, Thor, and Saturn gave us the basis for many of Santa’s distinctive characteristics.

But the most influential figure in the shaping of today’s generous as loving Santa Claus was a real man. St. Nicholas of Myra (now Turkey), a fourth century bishop.

As a champion of children and the needy, he was legendary for his kindness and generosity.

A TRADITION OF BENEVOLENCE In a well known story illustrating St, Nicholas’ benevolence, we find two of the basic principles of the holiday spirit - giving to others and helping the less fortunate as well as the tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace.

According to this legend, there were three Italian maidens whose families had fallen on hard times.

Because their father could not afford the dowries necessary for them to marry, he was considering selling one of his daughters into slavery to get dowries for the other two. When the good saint heard of the family’s plight, he went to their home late one night and anonymously tossed three bags of gold down the chimney. Miraculously, a bag fell into each of the sisters stockings, were hanging by the fire to dry. His kindhearted gift made it possible for all three sisters to marry.

A variation of this story is that as each girl was ready to wed, St. Nicholas came in the middle of the night when no one could see him and tossed a bag of gold through an open window into her stocking. The idea of gifts being delivered through an open window may have begun as a way to explain how Santa enters homes that have no chimney.

PATRON SAINT Because of his wisdom and sensitivity, many groups claimed St. Nicholas as their patron saint.

Children, orphans, sailors, and even thieves often prayed to the compassionate saint for guidance

and protection. Entire countries, including Russia and Greece, also adopted him as their patron saint, as well as students and pawnbrokers.

Throughout his life, St. Nicholas tried to help others while inspiring the to imitate his virtues.

Legends of his unselfish giving spread all over Northern Europe, and accounts of his heroic deeds blended with regional folklore.

Eventually, the image of the stately saint was transformed onto an almost mystical being, one known for rewarding the good and punishing the bad.

The date of his death, December 6th, was commemorated with an annual feast, which gradually came to mark the beginning of the medieval Christmas season.

On St. Nicholas’ Eve, youngsters would set out food for the saint, straw for his horses and schnapps for his attendant. The next morning, obedient children awoke ‘Remember the five simple to find their gifts replaced with rules to be happy: sweets and toys, found their offering untouched , along with a 1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries. rod or a bundle of switched. St. 3. Live simply.

Nicholas’ Day is still observed in 4. Give more. many countries, and gifts are ex5. Expect less. changed in honor of the spirit of CONTINUED, PG. 6

Thanks to Billy Newman for sharing this.

4092-11-10-IslandFurniture

10/22/10

4:43 PM

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2 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

Gift of the Magi A Classic Tale of Christmas

by O. Henry

I had amnesia once -or twice.

Stay and Play on the Bay! Nov 20 - Dec 19

Christmas in Kemah Dec. 4th Bay Area Pet Adoptions (all day) Pet Parade 2pm ( Visitor Center parking lot) Toy Drive (all day) Bay Area Christian Academy 1pm Dec. 5th Santa and Reindeer 11-4 pm D.J. 12:30-4:30 Dec. 11th Southbound Band Artist Obie Dozie’s 11-3 pm Christmas Boat Parade 6pm Dec. 12th Robert Greany 1-5 pm Patello Dancers 2-4 pm Dec. 17th Strolling Santa around the Lighthouse District 2-5 pm Dec. 18th D.J. 12:30- 4:30pm Ruth Ann Dancers 2-4:30 pm Santa Dec.19th Robert Greany 1-5pm Santa Dec. 20th Kemah Visitor Center- Santa Secret Search Drawing 3pm

Breeze into Kemah, The Gateway to the Bay For more information call the Kemah Visitor Center 877-775-3624 www.kemah-tx.gov

Something For Everyone!

One dollar and eightyseven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies.

Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home.

A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name “Mr. James Dillingham Young.”

The “Dillingham” had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called “Jim” and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far.

Expenses had been greater than

she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.

Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim. There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds.

Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride.

One was Jim’s gold watch that had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.

Where she stopped the sign To Page 12

December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 3

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Yam or sweet potato, what in the world is it? Many people

Patron, Fat Ass, Sauza Hornitos, Cuervo Gold, Cuervo 1800

use these terms interchangeably both in conversation and in

Mango Rita, Raspberry Rita, Strawberry Rita

cooking, but they are really two different vegetables.

Sweet Potatoes

frozen margaritas the swim up bar

Pina Colada. Hurricane, Rum Runner, Banana Daiquiri

Popular in the American South, these yellow or orange tubers are elongated with ends that taper to a point and are of two dominant types. The paler-skinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin with pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato. The darker-skinned variety (which is most often called “yam” in error) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a vivid orange, sweet flesh and a moist texture.

Current popular sweet potato varieties include Goldrush, Georgia Red, Centennial, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and Velvet.

Yams The true yam is the tuber of a tropical vine (Dioscorea batatas) and is not even distantly related to the sweet potato.

Slowly becoming more common in US markets, the yam is a popular vegetable in Latin American and Caribbean markets, with over 150 varieties available worldwide.

Generally sweeter than than the sweet potato, this tuber can grow over seven feet in length.

The word yam comes from African words njam, nyami, or djambi, meaning “to eat,” and was first recorded in America in 1676.

The yam tuber has a brown or black skin which resembles the bark of a tree and off-white, purple or red flesh, depending on the variety. They are at home growing in tropical climates, primarily in South America, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Yams contain more natural sugar than sweet potatoes and have a higher moisture content. They are also marketed by

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4 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

Ways to Show Kindness this Christmas Christmas is the perfect time to show acts of kindness and build a stronger sense of community. The spirit of the holiday is undeniable and Christmas kindness is legendary. Many individuals may be too busy during the year and random acts of kindness may slip their mind. This holiday season, make a point to enrich the lives of the less fortunate as well as those close to your heart. There are many simple acts of kindness that make a big difference and can make the holidays more enjoyable for all involved.

Computer Tips Marlene Jones Owner - Friendly Computers

The Evolution of Typing Gone are the days of the bell that signaled an approaching right margin, then the crashing slide of the carriage return. There’s no more need to stop to untangle the typebars stuck together in front of the ink ribbon. Our world has moved far beyond the Royal typewriter in the back bedroom of my parents’ home.

Keyboards seem to get smaller as they advance computing technology. Texting’s thumb-typing certainly can’t reach 80 to 100 words per minute. The compact keyboards of netbooks and smart phones take less space, but don’t seem to be a step forward.

Juxtaposed to the eager consumers of the iPad and smart phones are the Model M keyboard geeks. These are the folks who have used the same beloved keyboard for the past 25 years. IBM’s Model M keyboard, widely used from 1984 to the early ‘90s, is still revered by many professional typists. The Model M “Clicky” keyboard has a heavy design with a buckling spring mechanism on each key. To the Model M-addicted typist, the most satisfying attribute is the responsiveness of the keys, including the feel of the physical “click.” Many claim that typing is faster and for a creative writer, more productive on a Model M keyboard.

Unicomp, a company based in Kentucky, is producing the Model M keyboard using some of the original IBM manufacturing equipment.

While standard keyboards are currently available for less than $10, new clicky keyboards sell for $69. Other websites sell the original IBM Model M keyboards, used or still in the box for $45 to $100 or more.

Adapters are available for use with today’s computers, converting the outdated AT or PS/2 plugs to USB. Clicky keyboard users claim that the Model M lasts for decades. Some say they still use the same keyboard that came with their 1984 computer.

Speedy typists have long imagined an improved layout of the alphabet on the keyboard. There is a popular rumor that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down the typist. According to the researchers at Earthlink.net, C.L. Shoals first designed the typewriter with the alphabet in order across two rows of keys. When the metal typebars locked up for certain letter combinations, he rearranged them not to slow the typist, but to reposition letters that had a tendency to cause jams. His change actually improved typing speed.

In 1932, Professor August Dvorak of Washington State University designed a new keyboard to bring vowels and the five most frequently used consonants to the home row. The new arrangement allowed 400 common English words to be typed from the home row, compared to 100 on Shoals’ keyboard. The newer keyboard has never been widely accepted, perhaps because of the time most of us spent typing “a s d (space) j k l (space)” for our typing teachers.

So there are still remnants of the old days in our computers. If you miss the old machines, but still have a fascination for the sleek feel of a smart phone in your hand, you can find a “haptics” app that adds tactile and audible typing effects. Now you can pretend to use a Royal #10 or IBM Selectric as you surf the web and update your facebook page.

Where Did It Go? P.O. Box 1460 Dickinson, TX 77539 PHONE: 832-265-5691 FAX: 281-385-9085

WDIG2009@gmail.com Editor/Publisher Gene Rutt Contributors Marlene Jones Captain B.G. Willie Account Rep Elizabeth Scott 832-454-1940 Kala Garcia 832-265-5691 A Fun and Informative Rag for Those Who Have Been Around the Block and Attended at least One Rodeo. We are essentially targeting 15,000 40+ readers each month from San Leon to Pearland and all points in between but have enough fun for everybody no matter their age.

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December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 5

Stuck in a Rutt

Letter from the Editor

Little Knownby Facts About Oysters Ilene Polansky How Oysters Breathe Oysters breathe much like fish, using both gills and mantle. The mantle is lined with many small, thin-walled blood vessels which extract oxygen from the water and expel carbon dioxide.

A small, three-chambered heart, lying under the adductor muscle, pumps colorless blood, with its supply of oxygen, to all parts of the body. At the same time a pair of kidneys located on the underside of the muscle purify the blood of any waste products it has collected.

Oysters Male or Female There is no way of telling male oysters from females by examining their shells. While oysters have separate sexes, they may change sex one or more times during their life span. The gonads, organs responsible for producing both eggs and sperm, surround the digestive organs and are made up of sex cells, branching tubules and connective tissue.

Aw, Shucks!

What is that tiny crab we see in an oyster?

It is a species of crab (Pinnotheres ostreum) that has evolved to live harmoniously inside an oyster’s shell. These dime-sized crabs, much sought after by gourmands, are not abundant.

“It was a brave man who first ate an oyster”

How do pearls end up inside of oysters?

An oyster produces a pearl when foreign material becomes trapped inside the shell. The oyster responds to the irritation by producing nacre, a combination of calcium and protein. The nacre coats the foreign material and over time produces a pearl.

-Jonathan Swift

I recall my own first raw oyster. I ate it at the old Cleburne Cafeteria on Fannin in Houston.

A friend, whose father was a Rice alumni, invited me to a Rice football game in the early 50’s. Dicky Moegle and Kosse Johnson were playing for Rice and I believe Cotton Davidson was quarterback for Baylor.

Those were the good old days of Southwest Conference football.

After the game, we went to Cleburne’s and as I recall had a private dining room for about ten or twelve of us. They brought out some raw oysters and I realized I was part of the entertainment.

Everyone there knew it was my first time and were looking on to see how I’d react. After seeing some others being eaten I gave it a try and have been hooked since.

I used to joke that the cheapest way to eat raw oysters was to put them on a sting and eat them, then you could pull them back up and eat them again.

Probably the best deal ever was at Joe Lee’s place on Clear Creek where they were $1 a dozen one night a week. The bar had a window overlooking the creek. You could sit there and eat oysters and drink beer watching the boats go by. Some fun!

Another favorite oyster eating location is New Orleans.

I’ve had them at both Felix’s and the Acme Oyster Bar. After the recent BP oil spill I was afraid they might be off the menu for a while and very expensive but they started dredging (for oysters) in November and have been given a clean bill of health.

Pass the horseradish, please!

Gene Rutt - Publisher/Editor

The “R” Myth Folklore says that oysters should be eaten only in months with “r’s” in them—September, October, etc. however, oysters can safely be eaten 12 months a year. The notion that oysters should not be eaten in “r”-less months—that is, months that occur during warm weather—may have started in the days when oysters where shipped without adequate refrigeration and could spoil. But today all that has changed and we can enjoy oysters twelve months a year.

Oysters and Their Nutritional Value Oysters are not only delicious, but they’re also one of the most nutritionally well balanced of foods, containing protein, carbohydrates and lipids. The National Heart and Lung Institute suggest oysters as an ideal food for inclusion in low-cholesterol diets. Oysters are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), C (ascorbic acid) and D (calciferol). Four or five medium size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.

Health Tip Because raw foods including oysters may carry bacteria, persons with chronic liver disease, impaired immune systems or cancer should avoid eating raw oysters.

Recognizing Stroke Symptoms Can Save Lives If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and do this simple test:

Act F.A.S.T. FACE Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

ARMS Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

SPEECH Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?

TIME If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important.

Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.

Source: American Stroke Association

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6 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

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History of Santa Claus that he lantic. The Scandinavians inbrotherhood and charity embodied. troduced gift-giving elves, the Germans brought not only their THE MAKING OF SANTA CLAUS Belsnickle and Chistkindle but After the Protestant Refor- also their decorated trees and mation in the sixteenth century, the Irish contributed the ancient the feasting and veneration of Gaelic custom of placing a lightCatholic saints were banned. ed candle in the window.

But people had become accusIn the 1600’s, the Dutch pretomed to the annual visit from sented Sinterklaas (meaning St. their gift-giving saint and didn’t Nicholas) to the colonies. In want to forget the purpose of the their excitement, many Englishholiday. So in some countries, speaking children uttered the the festivities of St. Nicholas’ name so quickly that Sinterklaas Day were merged with Christ- sounded like Santy Claus. After mas celebrations, and although years of mispronunciation, the the gift-bearer took on new, non- name evolved into Santa Claus. religious forms, he still reflected In 1808, American author the saints generous spirit.

Washington Irving created a new In Germany, he appeared as version of old St. Nick. This Weihnachtsmann, in England as one rode over the treetops in a Father Christmas, and in France, horse drawn wagon “dropping as Pèrè Noël, who left small gifts gifts down the chimneys of his in the children’s shoes. favorites.” In his satire, DiedIn the areas where St. Nicho- rich Knickerbocker’s History of las was still portrayed as the gift- New York from the Beginning bearer, a host of other characters of the World to the End of the developed to be his assistants. Dutch Dynasty, Irving described Two of his most well-known Santa as a jolly Dutchman who helpers were Knecht Ruprecht smoked a long stemmed clay and the Belsnickle. Depending pipe and wore baggy breeches on the local tradition, they were and a broad brimmed hat. Also, either attendants to St. Nicholas the familiar phrase, “...laying his or gift-bears themselves, but in finger beside his nose...,” first all cases, both were fearsome appeared in Irving’s story. characters, brandishing rods and That phrase was used again in switches. It was not only their 1822 in the now-classic poem by dusty to reward good children Dr. Clement Clarke Moore, “A but also to reprove children who Visit from St. Nicholas,” more were naughty and couldn’t recite commonly know as “The Night their prayers.

Before Christmas.” His verse Knecht Ruprecht (meaning gave an Arctic flavor to SanServant Rupert) was also by oth- ta’s image when he substituted er names such as Black Peter (so eight tiny reindeer and a sleigh called because he delivered the for Irving’s horse and wagon. It presents down the chimney for is Moore’s description of Santa St. Nicholas and became black- that we most often think of toened with soot). day: “He had a broad face, and In some places, the images, of a little round belly, that shook, Knecht Ruprecht and St. Nicho- when he laughed, like a bowl full las merged to form Ru Klaus of jelly.” (meaning Rough Nicholas - so Up to this point, Santa’s physnamed because of his rugged ap- ical appearance and the color of pearance), Aschen Klaus (mean- his suit were open to individual ing Ash Nicholas - because he interpretation. Then in 1863, carried a sack of ashes as well as Thomas Nast, a German immia bundle of switches), and Pel- grant, gave us a visual image of znickle (meaning Furry Nicholas the cheerful giver that was to lat- referring to his fur clad appear- er become widely accepted. ance).

When Nast was asked to ilNot all of St. Nicholas’ com- lustrate Moore’s charming verse panions were frightening. In for a book of children’s poems, fact, the Christkindl (meaning he gave us a softer, kinder Santa Christ Child) was thought to ac- who was still old but appeared company him in many countries. less stern than the ecclesiastiOften portrayed by a fair-haired cal St. Nicholas. He dressed his young girl, this angelic figure elfin figure in red and endowed was sometimes the gift-bearer him with human characteristics. too.

Most important of all, Nast gave Santa a home at the North Pole.

SANTA IN AMERICA For twenty-three years, his annuImmigrants to the New World al drawings in Harpers Weekly brought along their various be- magazine allowed Americans Santa Claus to Page 13 liefs when they crossed the At-

December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 7

Libations for December Please Drink Responsibility

Candy Cane Swirl Ingredients 1 oz. Raspberry vodka 3 oz. Red Cranberry juice 0.5 oz. Grenadine Lemon Lime soda

Mixing instructions: Rim martini glass with crushed candy cane. Combine Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, Cranberry Juice and Grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Top with Lemon Lime Soda and garnish with small peppermint candy cane.

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BLACK SANTA •3/4 oz. Liqueur, coffee •1/4 oz. Schnapps, peppermint

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•1/2 oz. Vodka Mixing Instructions Pour the vodka and Kahlua coffee liqueur into an old-fashioned glass half-filled with ice cubes. Add the peppermint schnapps and serve.

CUPPA GOOD CHEER

Ingredients

1.5 oz. Cherry Vodka

0.5 oz. white creme de cacao

4 oz. Hot Cocoa

1 oz. Half ‘n Half

Whipped Cream

Maraschino Cherry Mixing instructions: Combine all ingredients into a holiday mug and top with whipped cream, red sprinkles and a Maraschino Cherry.

Midnight Melon Ball Drop Ingredients: 2 oz Midori melon liqueur 1 oz Skyy Citrus vodka 1/2 oz elderflower liqueur Juice of 1/2 lemon Sugar for rimming Melon ball for garnish Mixing instructions: Rim a chilled cocktail glass with sugar.

Pour the liquids into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a melon ball.

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8 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

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Night. A Story of a Song”, in which she explained to American children the origin of the song. The book was illustrated by Fritz Kredel and published by Alfred A. Knopf.

A 1988 dramatised television documentary called Silent Mouse tells the story of the creation of the carol from a mouse’s point of view. It featured Lynn Redgrave as narrator, and Gregor Fisher in one of the leading roles.

Was recorded by The Supremes but remained unreleased until 1999 when their Christmas Album, Merry Christmas”, was rereleased with additional tracks.

Westlife performed the song live in 2002. In 2006, Brad Paisley recorded the song for Brad Paisley Christmas. In 2007, Damien Leith included a recording on a limited special Christmas edition of Where We Land. In 2009 a version by Susan Boyle reached #5 on the US Adult Contemporary billboard chart. Shelby Lynne recorded her version of Silent Night on her 2010 album Merry Christmas.

Silent Night “Silent Night” is perhaps the most popular Christmas carol in history. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the Austrian priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. In 1859, John Freeman Young (second Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Florida) published the English translation that is most frequently sung today.

The version of the melody that is generally sung today differs slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber’s original, which was a sprightly, dance-like tune in 6/8, as opposed to the slow, meditative lullaby version generally sung today. Today, the lyrics and melody are in the public domain.

The carol was first performed in the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. Mohr had composed the words two years earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service.

In his written account regarding the composition of the carol, Gruber gives no mention of the specific inspiration for creating the song. According to the song’s history provided by Austria’s Silent Night Society, one supposition is that the church organ was no longer working so that Mohr and Gruber therefore created a song for accompaniment by guitar. Silent Night historian, Renate EbelingWinkler Berenguer says that the first mention of a broken organ was in a book published in the U.S. Some believe that Mohr simply wanted a new Christmas carol that he could play on his guitar. The Silent Night Society says that there are “many romantic stories and legends” that add their own anecdotal details to the known facts.

The Nikolaus-Kirche was demolished in the early 1900s due to flood damage and because the town’s center was moved up the river to a safer location, with a new church being built there close to the new bridge. A tiny chapel, called the “Stille-Nacht-Gedächtniskapelle” (Silent Night Memorial Chapel), was built in the place of the demolished church and a nearby house was converted into a museum, attracting tourists from all over the world, not only but primarily in December.

The original manuscript has been lost. However a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr’s handwriting and dated by researchers at ca. 1820. It shows that Mohr wrote the words in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in Mariapfarr, Austria, and shows that the music was composed by Gruber in 1818. This is the earliest manuscript that exists and the only one in Mohr’s handwriting.

Gruber’s composition was influenced by the musical tradition of his rural domicile. The melody of “Silent Night” bears resemblance to aspects of Austrian folk music and yodelling.[citation needed] Another popular story claims that the carol, once performed, was promptly forgotten until an organ repairman found the manuscript in 1825 and revived it. However, Gruber published various arrangements of it throughout his lifetime and we now have the Mohr arrangement (ca. 1820) that is kept at the Museum Carolino Augusteum in Salzburg.

The carol has been translated into over 44 languages. It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment.

The song was sung simultaneously in French, English and German by troops during the Christmas truce of 1914, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.

The song has been recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful in hit versions by Enya (sung in Irish), Andrea Bocelli (sung in Italian), Stevie Nicks, Bing Crosby, Mahalia Jackson, an acoustic version by American R ‘n’ B group Boyz II Men, and an instrumental version by Mannheim Steamroller. The Mannheim Steamroller backs narratives known as “The God Song” or “God’s Silent Night” which have been distributed to radio stations across the USA. Simon and Garfunkel recorded an ironic version of the song in which a depressing radio news report is overheard in the background ( O’Clock News/Silent Night). There have also been choral recordings by the King’s College Choir and the Vienna Boys Choir. Other recordings include Linda Ronstadt from A Merry Little Christmas (2000); Christina Aguilera from My Kind of Christmas (2000), Elvis Presley from Elvis’ Christmas Album (1957); and Tori Amos from Midwinter Graces (2009).

In 1943, the Austrian exile Hertha Pauli wrote the book “Silent <----Continued in left column

December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 9

Second Chance Pets

B

ridgette enefield

Editor’s Note: last month we started a new feature “Pet of the Month” to help find foster homes for cats and dogs. This article tells you a little about this program.

What is Second Chance Pets?

Second Chance Pets (SCP) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 animal welfare organization dedicated (a) to providing unwanted pets a second chance through foster care and pet adoption programs, (b) to educating the public about proper care for their own animals and about animal welfare issues, and (c) to working with the public, other rescue groups, and public officials to help resolve the problem of animal overpopulation.

Where is SCP Located?

SCP does not have a shelter or an office location. Its activities are centered primarily in Clear Lake, but the rescued pets, volunteers, fosters, and adopters who comprise SCP come from all over the Bay Area (mainly north Galveston and south Harris counties).

Most animals are fostered and loved in volunteer homes until a permanent home is found.

To contact SCP, call 281-286-3535. A volunteer will get back to you.

Where May I See Animals Available for Adoption?

SCP has cats and dogs available for adoption every Saturday at the Petco store at Bay Area Boulevard and Space Center Boulevard and at the Petsmart store across from Baybrook Mall the first and third Sundays of every month. Cats may be seen during the week at the Petco location and photographs of cats and dogs are posted on our web page www. secondchancepets.org.

How Do I Adopt A Pet? Potential adopters must complete applications so that volunteers can help adopters identify cats and dogs that will fit best in their homes. SCP volunteers review the applications and discuss pet care responsibilities with potential adopters. The adoption donation typically is $95 for cats and $125 for dogs.

Are the Animals Healthy?

SCP tries to ensure that all pets are healthy at the time of adoption. All are examined by veterinarians when they enter the program. All are vaccinated, spayed, neutered, de-wormed, tested/treated for parasites and disease (such as heartworms, fleas, leukemia and FIV) as needed. Cats are vaccinated for FVRCP-C and FeLV. Dogs are vaccinated for DHLPP and Corona virus. Animals are kept in foster homes when available to minimize exposure to disease and to help them be well-adjusted.

It is the policy of SCP that no cat or dog may be sent to a permanent home before it is fully vetted, including spay or neuter.

How Do I Place an Animal into the SCP Program?

Animals may be accepted into the program only if foster homes and funds for veterinary care are available. A donation is requested to help offset the cost of caring for the animals.

A person who seeks to place an animal in the program may also be asked to provide a foster home and funds for veterinary expenses.

Does SCP Euthanize Animals?

SCP’s goal is to medically treat and successfully rehabilitate each animal accepted into the program. Sadly, however, euthanasia is sometimes the most humane choice.

What Can I Do to Help Give a Pet a Second Chance at Life?

SCP always needs new volunteer foster homes as the lack of foster homes limits the number of animals that can be helped at any given time. Please go to www.secondchancepets.org , download the volunteer form and bring it to adoptions on any Saturday at Petco. As SCP operates solely on donations and volunteer effort, we appreciate any support you can offer. Volunteers are needed to foster cats and dogs, work weekend adoptions, transport animals, and raise funds. Financial contributions are always appreciated as well, and can be made easily and conveniently by using Paypal.

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“There are two kinds of people. Those who love cats and those who have never owned one.”

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PLEASE SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS Second Chance Pets 281-286-3535 www.secondchancepets.org

10 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

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“How’d you like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?” is the chorus to a Jimmy Buffett song. This Australian island’s only relation to the holiday is that it was named on December 25, 1643.

Christmas Island is one of the world’s significant seabird islands, with thousands of seabirds such as the endangered Abbott’s booby and the only nesting sites in the world of the Christmas Island frigate bird. The island also supports over 20 land crab species, including an estimated 50 million red crabs who shape and maintain the health of the island’s unique rainforests.

Consistent rains at Christmas Island have encouraged the red crabs to begin their spectacular migration from the forest to the coast, to breed and release eggs into the sea. The red crabs will be aiming to meet the possible 30 November spawning date. They have lots of time and will move slowly while rain continues. If the rain stops so will the crabs.

With so many endemic species, the Christmas Island is often referred to as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean.

When the wet season blows in each year, millions of Christmas Island red crabs hike for several days, from a high rain forest plateau down to Indian Ocean beaches, where the crabs mate in burrows.

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“It’s an amazing feat—going from not being able to exercise for more than ten minutes to walking for several miles,” said Lucy Turner, a biologist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

But by sampling circulatory fluid—the equivalent of blood— from migrating crabs, Turner and colleagues discovered that a surge in the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone works with glucose, an energy-producing sugar, to fuel the epic trek.

The crab’s endocrine system also regulates the ability of the crabs to access glucose from their energy stores, Turner added.

December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 11

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12 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

from Gift of Magi page 2 read: “Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds.” One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting.

Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the “Sofronie.”

“Will you buy my hair?” asked Della.

“I buy hair,” said Madame.

“Take yer hat off and let’s have a sight at the looks of it.”

Down rippled the brown cascade.

“Twenty dollars,” said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.

“Give it to me quick,” said Della.

Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim’s present.

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim’s.

It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents.

With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.

When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task.

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.

“If Jim doesn’t kill me,” she said to herself, “before he takes a second look at me, he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?”

At 7 o’clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.

Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always

entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: “Please God, make him think I am still pretty.”

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two-and to be burdened with a family!

He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.

Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her.

It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.

Della wriggled off the table and went for him.

“Jim, darling,” she cried, “don’t look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It’ll grow out again--you won’t mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast.

Say `Merry Christmas!’ Jim, and let’s be happy. You don’t know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I’ve got for you.”

“You’ve cut off your hair?” asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.

“Cut it off and sold it,” said Della. “Don’t you like me just as well, anyhow? I’m me without my hair, ain’t I?” Jim looked about the room curiously.

“You say your hair is gone?” he said, with an air almost of idiocy.

“You needn’t look for it,” said Della. “It’s sold, I tell you-sold and gone, too. It’s Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,” she went on with sudden serious sweetness, “but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?” Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.

Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon

the table.

“Don’t make any mistake, Dell,” he said, “about me. I don’t think there’s anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you’ll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first.”

White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

For there lay The Combs-the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: “My hair grows so fast, Jim!” And them Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, “Oh, oh!”

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open

palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

“Isn’t it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it.

You’ll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.”

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.

“Dell,” said he, “let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep ‘em a while. They’re too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on.”

The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men-who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents.

Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

YOU MAY NOW VIEW “WHERE DID IT GO?” ONLINE ALL ISSUES OLD AND NEW AVAILABLE AT

http://issuu.com/wdig/docs about the 1st of each month

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Aft-ter Thoughts:

by Captain B. G. Willie

THE CAJUN WHO WENT TO HELL Because of these unusual circumstances I can’t confirm if this story is true or not but knowing the person involved, it probably is. It involves a Cajun friend who died and went to hell.

The devil assigned him the usual punishment...put him in the mass pit where the heat was melting others. The devil came back sometime later surprised to find the Cajun just sitting around, not even misting, much less sweating. “How come you’re not so much as sweating here where everyone else is screaming for relief from the heat?”

The Cajun laughed and said, “Man, I was raised in the bayous of Sout Looziana... Dis bout lak May in Lafayette to me!”

The devil decided to really put the Cajun through it. He put him in a sealed off cave in the pit with open blazes and four extra furnaces blasting. When he came back, days later, the Cajun was sitting pretty, had barely begun to bead up with sweat. The devil was outraged.. “How is this possible!? You should be melted to a shrieking puddle in these conditions!.”

The Cajun laughed even harder than before. “Hey, man! I done tole you. I was raised in Sout Looziana. You tink dis is heat?!

Dis bout lak August in Jennings !”

So the devil thought, ‘Alright, a little reverse ought to do the trick.’ He put the Cajun into a corner of hell where no heat ever reached. It was freezing and to add to the Cajun’s misery, he added massive icebergs and blasting frozen air. When he returned, the Cajun was shivering, ice hung from every part of him but he was grinning like it was Christmas.

Exasperated, the devil asked “HOW!? How is it possible?!

You’re impervious to heat and here you sit in conditions you can’t be used to...freezing cold and yet you’re happier than if you were in heaven.. WHY?!”

The Cajun kept grinning and said, “Oh-boy looks lak hell’s froze over - Dis means dem Saints won da Super Bowl”

Santa Claus From Page 6 to peek into the magical world of Santa Claus and set the stage for the shaping of today’s merry gentleman.

Artist Haddon Sundblom added the final touches to Santa’s modern image. Beginning in 1931, his billboard and other advertisements for Coca Cola-Cola featured a portly, grandfatherly Santa with human proportions and a ruddy complexion. Sunblom’s exuberant, twinkle-eyed Santa firmly fixed the gift-giver’s image in the public mind.

St. Nicholas’ evolution into today’s happy, larger-than-life Santa Claus is a wonderful example of the blending of countless beliefs and practices from around the world. This benevolent figure encompasses all the goodness and innocence of childhood. And because goodness is his very essence, in every kindness we do, Santa will always be remembered. http://www.northpolesantaclaus.com/

December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 13

America Belongs in Space

George Landrith - President of the Frontiers of Freedom Institute NASA has been in the news for all the wrong reasons the past twelve months. First, the White House reportedly directed NASA to concentrate on Earth-based projects like researching climate change rather than returning to the moon, reestablishing U.S. space dominance, or exploring Mars. Second, Obama’s NASA administrator Charles Bolden revealed that one of President Obama’s primary missions for NASA was to “reach out to the Muslim world” to help Islamic nations “feel good” about their contributions and accomplishments in the scientific arena. In other words, NASA will become an international feel-good organization.

Some might argue that in financially tight times, it is necessary to cut spending and thus kill planned missions to the moon and to Mars. But NASA’s budget hasn’t been cut—only its mission has but gutted and its vision clouded. That is a HUGE mistake.

NASA should be working to keep the United States as the world leader in space exploration. There are billions of dollars spent on climate research, and NASA doesn’t need to duplicate those efforts. And the idea of making NASA an international counseling organization to help Islamic nations feel better about their lack of high-technology development is utterly silly.

Since the last Apollo mission in the 1970s, our space exploration program has focused on low Earth orbit. The United States needs to get back into the business of looking farther into outer space. We need to develop a heavy lift launch capability. But NASA cannot do this job if the President’s foresight is so weak and unimaginative.

President John F. Kennedy focused the nation on a bold vision that captured the American imagination. Obama would do well to follow his example.

A failure of vision has real costs. Much of the advancement and growth in the economy the past three decades have their roots in the space program. Transistors, circuit boards, computerization and miniaturization technologies were all advanced at unprecedented rates by the space program, not to mention the marketability of Tang or Ziploc bags. Ask yourself, what would have happened had Queen Isabella turned Christopher Columbus down and refused to fund exploration to find alternative trade routes to the East? What would have happened if Sir Francis Drake or Ferdinand Magellan had not been sent out to explore? What if President Thomas Jefferson had decided to save money rather than to send Lewis and Clark out to explore and chart North America?

NASA doesn’t spend very much money—a paltry $18 billion— but how that money is spent matters a great deal! Will it be spent to counsel Muslims who feel sad that they haven’t landed on the moon?

Will it be spent to duplicate the billions already spent on climate research? Or will it be spent to explore the frontiers of space? Will it be spent doing amazing and inspiring things, or wasted doing mundane and unimportant things?

It is time for NASA to again be in the big-vision business.

We need to head back to the moon so that we can hone our skills and technology for the more demanding trip to Mars and other yet unknown challenges. That means we need to develop a heavy lift rocket and a space vehicle that can safely carry astronauts into deep space and bring them home again. Each year we wait means time lost toward achieving those goals. Even worse, as we delay and waste time, our space and high-tech industries shrink, and we slowly become less capable of accomplishing myriad goals. If the President lacks the vision to direct NASA to perform its natural function, Congress should intervene and push the point. We must not allow the President to neuter our space program. Other nations with less myopic leadership will quickly fill the void, leaving the United States to play catch-up for decades to come.

Americans are by their very nature explorers. This country was founded by explorers. In our nation’s early history, we explored the western frontiers. More recently, we led the way in space exploration.

As a boy, I grew up admiring John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldren, and Jim Lovell. I watched with amazement as men walked on the moon and planted the American flag there. I watched the Space Shuttle fly off into the sky and become the backbone of a vibrant space-station program. There is value in being inspired by great visions and amazing accomplishments. Our children ought to have the chance to reach for the stars. We ought not to dream small dreams; small dreams do not inspire or motivate. We ought not to limit our children’s hope or vision.

14 WHERE DID IT GO December 2010

CRYPTOZOOLOGY

You may not be familiar with the word but you have probably been exposed to the science more times than you realize. Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals which are considered to be legendary or otherwise nonexistent by mainstream biology.

This includes looking for living examples of animals that are considered extinct, such as dinosaurs; animals whose existence lacks physical support but which appear in myths, legends, or are reported, such as Bigfoot and Chupacabra; and wild animals dramatically outside their normal geographic ranges, such as phantom cats.

Bigfoot

The term Cryptozoology was coined in 1959 by Lucien Blancou in a book dedicated to the foremost researcher of unknown animals, Bernard Heuvelmans. As the term has now become a standard part of modern vocabulary and appears in almost all dictionaries, it is defined as “the science of hidden animals”. It combines the three Greek words: kryptos, zoon and logos, which mean, respectively, hidden, animal, and discourse. In 1955, Heuvelman published On the Track of Unknown Animals and the new discipline was born. By 1982, the International Society of Cryptozoology was founded at a meeting held at the Smithsonian Institution.

According to this meeting, Cryptozoology concerns “the possible existence of known animals in areas where they were not supposed to occur, either now or in the past), as well as the unknown persistence of presumed extinct animals to the present time or recent past...

What makes an animal of interest to cryptozoology...is that it is unexpected”. To be an animal

of interest, it also must have at least one trait “truly singular, unexpected, paradoxical, striking, emotionally upsetting and thus be capable of mystification” according to Bernard Heuvelman.

Loch Ness Monster

The most famous creatures of Cryptozoology are the spectacular and disputed Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch and Colossal Squid. And while these legendary creatures have made the study of cryptids (as cryptozoologists call them) well known throughout the world, it is only a fraction of the hidden, un-catalogued, or out-of-place animals that have advanced this discipline. In 1812, Baron Georges Cuvier, the revered French biologist considered the father of Paleontology, declared the end of the age of zoological

discovery. “There is,” he said, “little hope of discovering new species [of large animals]. I hope nobody will ever seriously look for [Sea Serpents] in nature; one could as well search for the animals of Daniel or for the beast of the Apocolypse.”

A short seven years later, in 1819, the American tapir was found, the first of thousands of “new” animals to be uncovered in the last few centuries. Some other animals include the Giant Squid (1870s), Okapi (1901), the Komodo dragon (1912), the koupey (1937), and the coelacanth (1938). At one time even the Giant Panda was considered elusive and unknown, living in the valleys of the Himalayas, since it took 65 years between its “discovery” and the capture of a live one.

Yeti

December 2010 WHERE DID IT GO 15

JERSEY DEVIL

Cryptozoologists fight an uphill battle to get their questions answered and creatures found.

Kraken

Some of the other more famous cryptids are the yeti, abominable snowman and sasquatch, all similar to bigfoot.

There is also the Kraken, a legendary sea monster similar to an octopus or giant squid; the Beast of Bray Road, a werewolf-like creature; the skunk ape or swamp ape from the Florida Everglades; the Jersey Devil of the New Jersey Pine Barrens; the Boggy Creek Monster from Arkansas; the Black Beast of Exmoor; the American Werewolf and the Windigo, a legendary American indian monster from the great North woods.

Beast of Bray Road Cryptozoology represents the original way animals were studied and discovered.

Researchers would go to new places and listen to local legends and reports. They would be led to amazing animals that they would document or capture to show off back in Europe at zoos or schools, where they would formally classify them. But more often than not, Cryptozoologists and their discipline is dismissed by other recognized fields like paleontologists, anthropologists and zoologists as a pseudo-science due to some of the extraordinary claims. For many, “the search for unknown animals was at best a tainted enterprise, at worst an exercise in folly.”

Chupacabra

A recent television series entitled “MonsterQuest” has visited and researched dozens of creatures (cryptids) and except for those real animals like pythons in the Everglades; Bull Sharks and Hogzilla, there never seems to be any convincing real forensic evidence discovered.

It is always inconclusive, a blurred photo or some expert declaring that it is something else.

WINDIGO

I’m not a disbeliever and I’m open minded enough to know that all of God’s creatures have not yet been discovered. However, is it realistic to believe that 8 foot tall hairy creatures exist in the woods, that there are enough of them to procreate and maintain their population and yet we still don’t have one corpse or skeleton in all of history?

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No doubt it is an interesting and perhaps fun activity but so far, at least, there are no scientific results. I even kind of hope something like a Bigfoot does exist but I don’t have much hope for it. However, I will probably watch MonsterQuest from time to time just in case.

I don’t want to be the one out in the woods all alone if I’m wrong.

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Boggy Creek Monster

Hogzilla

Hoaxes also figure into the perception of Cryptozoology.

From false news reports in the late-19th century to the Patterson Film today,

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