RE: Little Drummer Boy

First a confession: I have little to no tolerance for the radio stations that play Christmas music all day starting November 1.  You could at least wait until after Thanksgiving, and why not wait a little longer?

Well there is a benefit.  In their desperate attempts to boast about the variety in their programming, we are treated to several different versions of Christmas songs.  You can hear Johnny Mathis AND Andy Williams sing all of them.

One song I've heard in diversity is "The Little Drummer Boy".  The classic version is the one done by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. You can also hear it performed by Whitney Houston.  I think I heard a Toby Keith rendition this morning.  Growing up we had a ceramic music box which played the tune.

It's safe to say that, like many of its holiday compatriots, "The Little Drummer Boy" has been done ad infinitum by multifarious artists with multifarious takes on the song.  But there's something missing.  In every version I've heard, there isn't a whole lot of drumming.  OK, some do better than others (tip 'o the cap, TK and Jars of Clay), but come on!  The song's about a little drummer boy who played his drum for Jesus and the Incarnate Word smiled at him.

I need a hero!

Here's what I want.  Immediately after the line, "I played by best for him, pa-rum-pa-pum-pum, rum-pa-pum-pum, rum-pa-pum-pum", just bring it!  Give me a Tommy Lee drum solo (you still read this, Tommy?).  How about the cast of Drumline?  Take a minute or two and throw down!

I want to see the innkeeper freak out about the noise, and Mary begin to ponder what she had done by allowing the little drummer boy to play.  It would be great foreshadowing for the entire ministry of Jesus which shook things up and turned the world upside down.  A most appropriate herald no doubt!

Then he smiled at me, and there was something about that grin.

Rev. Chip to the Rescue

I need some outlet for what I'm feeling.  I realize going public with this could elicit too much sympathy or too much ire--or both.  My first experience in the office this morning was a call to rescue damsels in distress.  Our preschool director and one of the mothers discovered a mouse in the ladies room.  OK, there wasn't any stereotypical screaming, but I did hear some female voice agreeing that they each were not going to touch it.

The director came to my door and asked if I would get the mouse out of the ladies room.  I was reassured it was a baby--what's reassuring about that?

I picked up a dish towel and was fully expecting to be removing a dead mouse.  My surprise was that he was alive and as cute as could be.  I scooped him up and headed to the door.  He weighed nothing.  He was "this big", yet I could feel his body heat through two layers of fluffy dish towel.

My heart was breaking!  I knew I had to expel this little critter from the office area, but I also knew that meant putting him out in the cold.  Where's Ellie Mae Clampett when you need her?