24 DEC 2011 - 1528 CDT Fellow Members of the ARRL Board Family: Illinois Section Manager Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN, writes one of the better monthly Section Newsletters. The intro to this much published Christmas message demonstrates a tiny bit of his writing style and view of the world. Again, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas! - Dick Isely, W9GIG ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Tom Ciciora" <ttc2301@sisna.com> To: <SNIP> Subject: Merry Christmas Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:32:26 -0600 Message-ID: <000601ccc27b$26e92000$74bb6000$@com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0007_01CCC248.DC4EB000" I hope that this finds you all happy and healthy. A Merry Christmas to all. Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN Christmas shouldn't be a quest to reclaim or revisit the holidays of our childhood, nor a competition to exceed last year's gifts. Either will properly result in disappointment and a loss of real reason for pausing with friends and family every December 25th. Besides, it's not your birthday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. (Luke 2:1-20)