{"id":2633,"date":"2021-12-25T11:44:25","date_gmt":"2021-12-25T16:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2021-12-25T11:45:42","modified_gmt":"2021-12-25T16:45:42","slug":"this-years-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2633","title":{"rendered":"This Year’s Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Christmas I heard a few footsteps downstairs.<\/p>\n

I snuck to the steps, clutching one of my bears.<\/div>\n
What I saw down there took my breath away.<\/div>\n
There sat old Santa, no suit and no sleigh.<\/div>\n
He looked very tired, in overalls clad.<\/div>\n
When I saw no presents, I thought I’d been bad.<\/div>\n
“Sit down here, my child, and let me explain.”<\/div>\n
He pulled from his pocket a small candy cane.<\/div>\n
He’d eaten the cookies and finished the milk.<\/div>\n
His beard was magnificent, white and like silk.<\/div>\n
“All presents this year, and I’m trying to be kind,<\/div>\n
are not in the physical realm, but the mind.<\/div>\n
This grasping at store-bought rewards has to cease.<\/div>\n
I’m trying to instill here instead a world peace.”<\/div>\n
And then, on his shoulder, there landed a dove.<\/div>\n
I noticed a neck tattoo that just said “Love.”<\/div>\n
“I don’t have a present for you or your bear.<\/div>\n
But what I will give you’s\u00a0the\u00a0power to care.<\/div>\n
It’s what I am leaving, from Pompeii to Perth,<\/div>\n
in hopes that this sentiment could change the earth.”<\/div>\n
Then, blowing a kiss, up the chimney he fled.<\/div>\n
“If this doesn’t work, next year you’ll get a sled.”<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Christmas I heard a few footsteps downstairs. I snuck to the steps, clutching one of my bears. What I saw down there took my breath away. There sat old Santa, no suit and no … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poem-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1468,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=1468","url_meta":{"origin":2633,"position":0},"title":"No Silent Night","author":"Rick Young","date":"December 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In the air there's pre-impeachment smell. Children play with Nadler and Schiff toys. Orange\u00a0tweets as if one foot in hell, scolding all the donkey girls and boys. He is screaming, \"I'll get you, my pretties! I hate scum no matter what the age is.\" He'll now invade sanctuary cities, throwing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":809,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=809","url_meta":{"origin":2633,"position":1},"title":"He’s Makin’ A List","author":"Rick Young","date":"December 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh Santa, please bring me some nukes for Christmas. Just leave some megatons beneath my tree. My Russian pen pal asked you for the same thing. And I don't want him to have more than me. The game we play is mutual destruction. And I don't know, dear Santa, if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":887,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=887","url_meta":{"origin":2633,"position":2},"title":"National Pastime","author":"Rick Young","date":"April 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"No one saw the last strike coming, on the inside corner humming. No one saw the walk off homer, save the hermit Astrodomer. No one saw the infield fly never exit from the sky. All the rules that once applied disappeared and our sport died. Stolen bases weren't returned. Fireballers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2220,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2220","url_meta":{"origin":2633,"position":3},"title":"Gory Story","author":"Rick Young","date":"November 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we learned of RINO's and dead dogs at the polls. Apparently all zombies weren't removed from voter rolls. A dog did vote beside me. He'd a coat of rusty red. I saw him vote straight Dem but didn't know that he was dead. And what about that chicken who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2258,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2258","url_meta":{"origin":2633,"position":4},"title":"His Many Duties","author":"Rick Young","date":"November 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw Satan at my polling place. He had horns and all, but he had Jared's face. Wearing a nice suit, he looked quite tall and pale. But, looking down beneath his cuffs, I know I saw some tail. And when I went to vote, he quickly stepped right up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1748,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=1748","url_meta":{"origin":2633,"position":5},"title":"5\/4\/70","author":"Rick Young","date":"May 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I remember Kent State and how it changed my life. Had a pass from G.I. training, was in Frisco with my wife. When I saw it on t.v., I said I can't go back. Supposed to save our country, baby, not go on attack. She flew east, I'd follow soon,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2635,"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions\/2635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}