December 7, 2009

<>The above photo shows a quiet, happy village.; Not so anymore...there is unrest brewing. The bears, penguins and other critters who get to endorse the major soft drink for ten months of the year are trying to foment a rebellion. THEY WANT IT ALL! Mr. Kringle is trying to negotiate a peace with them, but in the meantime there is a lot of unsettled business to deal with. >The bears have taken over the town square and are demanding that the issue be put to a vote. Mr. Kringle has been promised the endorsement contract for November and December each year, and feels that he has made quite enough of concessions as it is. Perhaps the soft drink company is behind this?; Why can't everybody just get along?/p>More tomorrow...'til later...

December 5, 2009

Christmastime Village has two churches...the High Church up on Snob Hill, and the Low Church down in the main Village.; One has all the money and the other has all the people...you guess which is which.

At the Low Church this evening there are carolers out and about.; There is also a Living Nativity Scene for people to observe.A couple of years ago, Mr. Kringle had a problem with the soft drink company and his endorsements.; It seemed that the company wanted to bring in some "new blood" and retire Mr. Kringle's image;After some intense negotiations and much campaigning by the world's children, the company knuckled under to the pressure and agreed to keep Mr. Kringle on.; They, however, wanted the newcomers too, so the agreement was made that Mr. Kringle would have the months of November and December for his image to be advanced and the bears, penguins and others get the rest of the year. This doesn't mean that there aren't sometimes infringements on this deal though.>The second set of ice hockey scores:;The Bakers beat the Toy Makers 3-2 and the Canadians got some revenge against the Farmers 4-2.'Til later...<

December 4, 2009

December 3, 2009

The children of the village are engaged in a snowman building contest.; Of course several snowball fights break out, but it's all good natured fun. In another part of the park the smaller children play on the slide and teeter-totter.Mr. Kringle sponsors many of the contests and games around the village, because he feels that a happy populace produces good workers.; He has several factories around the village, and most of the workers come from here;Probably because he is so short himself, he has a special love of "height challenged" people, and most of the workers are under 4 feet tall!>The village is shielded from the factories by the hills, but Mr. Kringle uses a train to transport the workers from their homes to work...free of charge.A few years ago a soft drink company enticed Kris Kringle to lend them his name and face to endorse their company. Because of that endorsement, the company gave him a train as well as several buildings for his village. The partnership has had a few bumpy spots, but altogether it has been very good for Mr. Kringle and his enterprises.>More about the factories and many of Kris Kringle's enterprises tomorrow.'Til later...

December 2, 2009

Christmastime Village is a happining place. There are several different neighborhoods to this village...all the way from Snob Hill where the upper crust resides to the shop area where you can get a soda at the drug store, browse the book store, or check out the hardware in the variety store. Above is a snap of the skating rink that serves as a fishing pond in the summer. The night games are especially fun to watch. The ice rink is down by the rail yards, brewery and billiard hall.A lot of good natured partying takes place after a game.Til later...

December 1, 2009

UAs I was saying yesterday, the Village has returned.; Almost every December Christmastime Village materializes in our house.; The Patriarch of this village is named Kris Kringle.; He is a slightly overweight gentleman who is universally loved (especially by children).; He has a long white beard and enjoys wearing red robes trimmed with ermine He is short of stature, and has been referred to as a "right jolly old elf".This morning I watched the firemen raise Old Glory for the duration of the month.The village is smaller than previous years, but the populace is just as busy and happy as ever.; I plan to tell you of the happenings in this village as the month draws on, with pictures to accompany the text. I hope you will enjoy my musings as much as I enjoy relating them.'Till later..

November 30, 2009

Tomorrow is the First of December, and that means that the Village will be reappearing.; It didn't show up last year, but the train has already started to materialize. I will be posting pictures tomorrow and subsequent days along with news from the Village. Stay tuned...