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COMMUNITY Macdonald wrote, “Our ease and confidence in our environment has cracked, slightly but permanently, like an egg.”
DECEMBER Almanac By Phyllis Benson “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.” --- Andy Rooney
december events open with National Pie Day and close with Na-
tional Bicarbonate of Soda Day. Our bistro chef says pace yourself so that by Pumpkin Day, you still have fork room.
december 1911: Polar explorer Roald Amundsen led the first successful expedition to reach the South Pole. Polar Quip: It is so cold that Starbucks is serving coffee on a stick. december 7 is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. In 1941, the Japa-
nese launched a surprise attack against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that killed more than 2,400 Americans. The next day, the United States declared war and entered WWII.
moonrise: On December 10, enjoy the night’s full moon and total
december 16, 1811, earthquakes rumbled through the New Madrid fault, causing the Mississippi River to run backwards, church bells to ring in Boston a thousand miles away, riverboats to capsize, and forests to subside. punster: Geologists say these quakes occur every 500 to 1,000 years, unless their logic is faulty. film director Steven Spielberg was born December 18, 1946. The California entrepreneur is known for Jaws, Star Wars, and other movies. spielberg, a partner in the DreamWorks Studios, said, “I don’t dream at night, I dream all day; I dream for a living.” operation santa paws is this month. Help your favorite animal shelter by collecting holiday treats and toys for abused and homeless pets. winter solstice is December 22. solstice revelers hike the redwoods in moonlight, dance with
ocean waves, or sip ale around Yule logs. They celebrate the seasonal change to longer days and shorter nights.
our barber says this is the season for gifts of the heart. And the wallet. And the checkbook.
lunar eclipse. Our astronomer says the best eclipse viewpoints are Triple-A: Alaska, Asia, and Australia.
elfism: If Santa rode a motorcycle, it would be a Holly Davidson.
the dewey decimal system was designed by Melvil Dewey, born December 10, 1851. Dewey’s system classifies books by category, making it easy to find a book on library shelves and return it to its proper place.
is giving to those less fortunate. Boxes of food, goods or small sums of money were given the day after Christmas as bonuses to servants or alms to the poor.
erma bombeck said, “As a child, my number one best friend was the librarian in my grade school. I actually believed all those books belonged to her.” mystery novelist Kenneth Millar, better known as Ross Mac-
boxing day is December 26. In the United Kingdom, the tradition
our boxing day is simple. We leave an empty gift box just big enough for the cat to hide and the dogs to seek. this year we are giving survival boxes to friends. Inside are candles, cocoa and cookies, just enough to survive a chilly night. Have a heart-warming season.
donald, was born December 13, 1915, in Los Gatos. Creator of detective Lew Archer, Macdonald and his wife lived in Santa Barbara and campaigned against offshore drilling in the wake of the 1969 oil spill.
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