One and one makes a December bundle

It rains every December. It snows every December. It's cold every December. It's hot every December. Depending on where you might be on this globe, there's a extreme of weather every December. This 'December rite of custom' brings us closer together as family, even as a human race at this time of year. I particularly love the way even the hardest of hearts are somewhat softened every December; if not by the story of Christmas, then by the hope of making amends and getting into a New Year at peace with most people, if not everyone. Thank God for December. I have a fetish for pens and I just got myself two new ones this morning, that really struck my sight but which I am sure I shall not have need of now; the little man at the duty-free shop took too much trouble explaining how the mercury enabled the pen to write better, et al. I forgot to tell him I had more than enough mercury pens already since I was more fascinated by his thick rimmed glasses. So I didn’t hear much of what he said until he was done. For all his trouble, however, I said I would take two. Typical salesman that he was, he showed me an even better one (with a higher price tag too) while I was counting the money that I still owed for the two pens that I’d taken. In the spirit if Christmas, I said I would take that too! The little man was delighted. It was probably only one of a handful of such pens (the last one) that he’d sold all year. I could tell because of his mixed reaction of surprise and awe when I said I would take that too. When you’ve been collecting pens for over 10 years, you somehow begin to take notice of even such little specifics. “Merry Christmas my friend,” the little Asian man finally said to me as he handed me a courtesy chocolate bar, I believe as a Season freebie. “It will be merry indeed!” I replied, "Have a merry Christmas yourself".It was also my birthday a couple of weeks ago. One of the other reasons that I love the month of December so I guess. In one part of her message to me that morning she had said, “…because in our lives, if there’s someone that’s treasured, it is you…” That sweet lady has always remembered that day since she gave birth to me many years ago. Come to think of it now, I think birthdays should really be about our mothers –they bore all the pain after all, while we only wobbled out! I love you mother! Several phone calls, messages and a day later, I received one particular phone call on my mobile as I was just rising to give a speech in a breakfast meeting. I promised I would call her back later and when I did, Judy said she’d only wanted to apologise for not having called the previous day to wish me a happy birthday. Out of all of the myriad calls and text messages that I’d received until then, I think at that point, my heart actually did melt. Thanking God for great family and friends. I shared out the last of the birthday cake two nights later with (let’s call him) Tom, a home-guard. The latter had been away from duty for sometime. When I saw him, I thought he looked a little haggard as he held his gun in his right hand and overcoat in the left. The weight of those things was beginning to bear on him I imagined. Together we sat out on the front lawn gazing up into the dark African December sky lighted by a few shining stars as the lake breeze blew in, carrying with it sounds of soft music, perhaps from the new resorts dotting the beaches now. Tom pointed at a moving light up in the sky. I hadn’t seen it at first so I had a little trouble locating it. And then he asked, “There… is it true those aeroplanes drop their waste over the desert whenever they fly over one?” Before I could reply, he was giving me his account of how the hyacinth plant (water weed) was dropped over the river Nile from one of “those” and thus started one of Africa’s biggest problems. You never win easily when you argue with Tom so I let him give me an education this one time. It was December after all! We talked about his days in the army and slowly progressed to our variant opinions over George Bush and American policies in the MiddleEast and then to his (Tom) family. And then we had this one very long silence. After a while Tom said, “You know you are my brother. Thank you”. It could have been a whole minute later until I replied, “I know, I know Tom.” Sometimes silences can be the real conversation between friends. My family and I are taking some time out over this holiday –as FAMILY. So I shall largely be unavailable to blog. Season’s greetings to all of you out there this Holiday! Have a merry Christmas and a joyous Holiday Season! And may the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding be with you all. Amen.