Another Christmas greeting! – By Reeves Neydorff (sent to eLanka by Trevine Rodrigo)
Finished the chores. Trying to keep a lid on things. Chrissie night still needed some burning off! The sea was calming but still showed a swell from the depression now in the middle of the Arabian sea. But it will calm down, as it goes west, and nothing else to talk about except some equatorial convection to the East. Some clouds gathering for a late night local.
It was One heavy meal with meat and sea food, and mono-bi-and tri-carbs and all the trappings, cheese off-course for the mixed pasta (Took me more than an hour before I munched my way through it, but anyone knows, I never leave a plate, with residue ,and with some garlic bread, wiped the platter clean, easy to wash up after) followed by a Heavy duty, two loads of dessert, with crusty chocolate biscuit pudding, and Ice cream for a good sugar coating, and a sis doing the mothering.
A couple of scotches on the rocks prior, and one in between, with the backbone that keeps UL still floating, my favorite nephew, doing the pouring, and pleasant company, my Bil’s bro and family from Switzerland back home to stay for good. Wife, and lovely daughter, and her beau, lucky man, beautiful people!
and my niece in law, you should see her in her UL sari.
BTW. I have first generation UL all over my page! My best and staunchest, kept the highest standards on duty. Right through ULs beginnings to Now! Friends and family! Sheer class!
Proficiency, efficiency, competency, charisma! Brains, beauty, talent, human touch, who have dealt with every kind of character in the book, and outside it! I can walk into a room, and UL stands out like the cream!
So, tell me again, why I shouldn’t adore Sri Lanka?
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So back to my Crissie dinner! People we are at home with, and family, and off course, the two kids, Shadow, the gorgeous golden retriever, and master showman, does his, “I’m on guard here”, thing, growls near the gate ,pretending there is a lion or bear outside, runs around the yard marking his territory, sniffs out every nook and cranny for snakes and monitor lizzards, and then goes and stands up and places his paws on his mamas chest asking for approval, he gets it from proud Mama, he has her wrapped around his paws, and, the littlest addition, and not the least, Bikini, their poodle, with oodles of charisma, with her natural coat of hair that falls over the eyes like a donkey fringe, who upstaged everyone and stole the show! MMMwah, mwah, mwah, mwah! Reminds me of mums Suzie, a spitz mixed human, lived till about 30!
She’s a riot of energy, and I can see the sparks flying off her in bursts, a dominatrix, but a heart stopper! She knows her guys, and how to get them, and puts part to the ladies.! And puts even bigger part to Shadow, ten times her size. She has him wrapped around her paws I bet. Shadows a gentle giant, like his gentle man dada!
Auras, merging, a kaleidoscope of personalities!
And I tried a fast one! You see, the guys, my Bil and his bro, and family, are like at the roots of Colombo’s music scene. And nephew, just picked it and did his scene. “Five minutes apart”. So, I’m pretty close to the whole music scene going back to my crawling days. From, the tea-chest basses, and the ukeleles, to rock and roll. So, I did some reminiscing, how we sang, and the characters, and guitars, and if not guitars, voices. But they didn’t take the bait.
Back then, my home was a step away from the church. Where all the boys and girls went to church to meet. Endure hours of sermons, and catechisms, and rosaries. For what else now? Oh, that Church. Its walls can tell a few stories.
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Yes, just voices. And Christmas began with the songs. A month of it.
And it was open to all. Mixed community! So, it was midnight mass, come back to Vaverset, Dinner, yellow rice and Chicken curry, and Seeni sambol , wet the throat. and celebrate Christs birthday till morning! Carolers, would come and go, Santas legless, the Silent night full of stars, and, sky rockets, and, crackers and alidons, and dashing crackers and collecting the duds for the gunpowder and making bombs to blow up skyscrapers, and sky rocket fights with the neighbours, the rodi clan with their painted character who we will dowse with a bucket of water ,who come for their Christmas collection, they can soak it in, and they’ll knock it down neat, ,everybody dropping in,
We rolled out the barrel that never seemed to run dry, packed all our troubles in an old kit bag,, took the long road to Tipperary, stared mournfully through Irish eyes at Galway bay, had a few pints with Danny boy, and when it got a bit raucous, and the Aunties got restive, sang, She’ll be coming down the mountain, when she comes, and she’ll never come right again,. Doing the jig! That was the sign, Old girls had, had enough, and they knew the signs. Always keeping a sharp eye, they catch the old bugger by the neck and drag him home, and left it to the next generation to finish
And My parents, anniversary! Ammooo! was 31st Dec . So there was a week more of celebrations till New Year’s eve. So that one was midnight mass, String hoppers, and pols sambol, and Mulligatawny! And there were no invitees! Family and friends just came. Ended with Auld lang syne at dawn, and kiributh and lunumiris and more breudher with edam cheese, for breakfast. In our days parties went on till dawn! While we popped across to other parties in the vicinity, or they popped in.
We had a family, and our friends, like steps. All age- grouped! And my Home was an extension of that church. So, Sunday mass was essential. To redeem the sins of Friday and Saturday! The church owned all our sins at the end of the day! Sinning and redeeming! It was a comfortable enterprise. Worked both ways! And kept our consciences cleansed!
Times have changed!
