What a wonderful picture....  the bread, silver polished, fire....  We
packed it in at about 11:00 only to be woken by my son (7) he had adjusted
my clock to 5:30 am, the moon being curiously to the east, I double checked
to discover the real time was 1:23am.  His note to Santa read "If my
stocking is too full just leave it on the floor, thanks...."
You can smell vodka?  Yikes...
Best,
Leland

----- Original Message -----
From: Met History <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 24, 1999 10:52 PM
Subject: Weepy Christmas spirit


> The carols were great.  I  ..almost.. didn't cry at ",,,radiant beams from
> thy holy face,,,". The postlude, a Messaien typically atonal thing, was
> wretched.  Best part was watching the church lighten as the 150-plus
candles
> were lit.  Lots of goodbys and hugs outside for old friends.
>
> The Saks Fifth Avenue windows were funny 50's retro-Eloise-esque, silly
from
> a distance, touching and funny close up.  The crowds were milling down
> towards the skating rink at Rock Center, with 30 Rock floodlit up to the
sky.
>  Cold and clear - snuck into Zabars at 2 PM during a lull in the crowds to
> buy a bread machine - maiden voyage tonight - hoping to be free of the
> drudgery of 4 AM wake up for breakfast bread.
>
> The kids are eager, even the 15 year old one who had vodka on his breath
two
> nights ago after the Gold and Silver Ball in his first dinner jacket.   I
> finally bought my 80-something aunt something she liked - a waffle iron.
She
> called to thank me - a first. Or maybe I was just suckered.  The fire is
> burning down, the silver is polished, we said grace together at the
> steakhouse  "... and BLESS THIS MEAL!"  just like the bible belt tourists
do
> at Lutece.
>
> The kids are cleaning up the kitchen after putting together their annual
> gingerbread house - which they always gleefully hammer to smithereens in
> February.  They're going to drag their beds out to the living room in a
> minute to go to sleep in front of the fire so that "Santa" can come in and
> fill their stockings.  This year they'll open their stockings at 7:30 AM -
we
> started negotiating from 8:00 (they've forgotten that they used to open
them
> at 6:00, just like they don't notice when we fiddle with the clocks at
> "midnight" on New Years Eve).
>
> I can see our 10-year-neighbors, the Barkhorns, across 89th Street,
getting
> their house ready for their kids.  Karin's father died today - funeral
> Tuesday.  I have the annual freshly carved pumpkin filled with Christmas
> lights facing their windows, red and green eyes, blue nose, rainbow mouth.
>
> No one else from BP is up at 10:45 PM Christmas eve?
>
> Kris Kringle in NYC
>