Bing Crosby
As a downhill skier, I have always loved the crooner Christmas Carol by Bing Crosby, “White Christmas”:
“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas“
As far as Christmas 2012, we only had a dusting of the white stuff. But we did have a White New Year’s, thanks to a winter snowstorm from the Great Lakes to the Green Mountains and beyond.
That’s the good news. The bad news was my sister’s family from Michigan was not able to come visit is and ski Vermont after Christmas. They were planning on driving east on December 27th, which was the day of the snowstorm. They would have been driving through the storms in southern Ontario, and New York.
But the other good news is that my wife and skied on December 28th at Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, VT. It seemed that everyone in New England had the same idea and headed for the slopes. They were dreaming of snow, and their dream came true. Although the lift lines and wait times were long, this was good news for Vermont’s economy, which depends on tourism.
Dr. Martin Luther King
On Monday, January 21st, America celebrates both the Martin Luther King holiday and the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. At this time each year, I like to listen to Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech from August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Here are some short excerpts from his speech that still ring true today (plus links to full transcript):
“I have a dream today.” …
“This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning ‘My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!’”
“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.”
