A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....12-19-03...A Christmas Contest: Play Santa

12/19/03 | FreeTheHostages

[FreeTheHostages]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997. Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

	Welcome to a Christmas Contest
There will be SEVEN prizes!! P.S. Six are spoken for.
1	2	3
		A 2004 Republican National Committee Wall Calendar, Each Page Containing a Beautiful Photograph of Our President!
4	5	6
		A 2004 Quilt Engangement Calendar!!

It's about time we give Christmas tips to the hostesses around here.   Each of the five regular hostesses -- Billie, Mama_bear, Dansangel, Dutchess, and Aquamarine -- will receive one of the gifts pictured above (unless they prefer of course not to trust an erratic judge like me with their snail mail address, hee hee!).

But hmm, they've all been so good this year.  Who should get which gift??  Play Santa the best and divvy up the gifts and you'll win a special prize! And yes hostesses *are* qualified to enter the contest win the surprise gift too. Of course, a holiday contest thread wouldn't be complete without silly rules, so here are mine:

THE RULES

You know how wonderful our hostesses are
And you know how hard they work.
So pony up your Christmas tip
And don't be a stingy jerk.


Above you see six pictured toys
And your only job is a piece of cake:
Write a poem of that explains
Which gift each hostess should take.


Explain in your poem -- which need not rhyme
Why which hostess should get which toy.
If your poem is the best you'll win for yourself
A surprise which will bring much joy.


To do well in this contest it will help to have read
Some of the threads of this year.
So you'll know, e.g., which hostess loves quilts
And whose hot for George W. in flight gear.


But if you don't know, that's no excuse
Not to offer a poem of praise.
It's Christmas time and well we all know
How much our hostesses deserve a raise.


As you can see from this poem my standards are low
Regarding both meter and rhyme,
But one key to winning is to be sure to enter
By 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.


They've worked so hard all year long
And given you color, and graphics, and fun, and great joy.
Please help play Santa for our lovely sistahs
And you'll win a precious toy!


Now some of you may see six gifts
And think that I'm the sixth
But guess again and think real hard
About who else should be on your list!


There's another who appears more often
And delights you with his prose
He should get a gift too and which one
You'll also decide in your lovely poem.


Good luck and have fun and my final advice
Is go for it and be sincere
It's the thought that counts, not how "good" your poem
Just share with us your good cheer!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 12-15-03...Military Monday 12-16-03...Shop 'til You Drop! 12-17-03..."Gilligan... A Splash of...whatever!" 12-18-03..."We Got Him!" by JohnHuang2

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45Man
at
danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[FreeTheHostages]

(Wow, that poem had a lot of typos! Hee hee: consider it my Christmas gift to you, TTM. ;)

[Aquamarine]

You win!

[FreeTheHostages]

Applause! Thanks -- i actually might of missed it cause it was short so thanks for pointing it out.

Yeah, you have to be right about the Coulter doll. JohnHuang2 may have that wrapped up, shall we say. But let's wait and see if the peanut gallery's poetry might dictate otherwise. . . .

[FreeTheHostages]

Hmm, see my post 101. TTM is sure to spot the typos.

(And hey thanks again for proofreading help -- hee hee, we have TTM slim pickings on today's thread. High five.)

[Aquamarine]

That's a cute Christmas bear Billie.
Those cookies sound wonderful, I'd ask you to post the picture of them that you posted last year but remembered that the thin man made fun of them. Wouldn't want to give him the same opportunity again. lol

[GailA]

From my email

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his faceweary andtight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear "
Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a coldChristmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

Friends, keep Our military people in your prayers. They are risking their lives to protect what we take for granted, and we are losing soldiers every day. They won't be home with their families this Christmas.
I pray God will Bless Them, and keep them safe.
Merry Christmas!!

[jwfiv]

Miss Freezie, your rhyme is for a reason,
and it's perfect for the season.

Quite a task you've given us
as we cruise through Freeperville in our Magic Bus.

Pippin's list is very fine,
The Thin Man's thick with sugar and brine.

His discriminating way will never vex,
'tis love he gives, just ask LadyX.

Miss Dansy's own was very bold,
it shows a brave heart that'll never grow old.

All our Hostesses deserve the best, and that's my wish, from way out West.

About the gifts, I haven't much clue,
but one doll, I know, should go to you know who.

Miss Coulter would love a date with John Huang2.

[Pippin]

(((JW)))!

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL, sounds like a fun game.

click on the graphic

[Pippin]

Hi, (((Victoria)))!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Pippin, good to see you!

How are you doing?

[FreeTheHostages]

My Entry

I'm sure you'll agree that it's going to be hard
For me to judge this contest, being such a bard.
I thought it might more pour balm in the wound
If I entered the contest and entered it soon.

Cause frankly I've designed this contest thread
So I don't have to work myself to death:
Writing even bad poems takes time, you'll concede,
So hopefully there won't be a zillion entries to read!

But that being said, I do think there should be
Oh just a few more entries for me to see.
So here's one from me, with holiday wishes
To see The Thin Man some day swim with the fishes.

The easiest gift to give of all
Is the one that is beautiful, blond, and tall.
Only if your mind is beginning to falter
Could you doubt that John should be with Ann Coulter.

Next easiest is the first George W. doll
For whom all this thread we've heard dansangel ball.
I think that her grovelling should count for a lot.
And so it's the flight-suited guy that she's caught.

(Mind you this is not my judge's thread.
This is just my entry instead.
Although this thread does reveal my current thinking,
Who knows what I'll think when I seriously start drinking?)

Hmmm, I now don't know who really wants Rumsfield
Help me out here, before the contest is sealed.
Would Mama_bear, Aqua, or Dutchess want him?
Give me a clue please, someone fill me in.

The RNC Calendar seems like a loser
But in fact, despite the fact I'm a boozer
I can clearly say -- to the extent that I'm able --
That's its a special gift not commercially available.

I could be wrong but if I had to guess.
I think Mama_bear would like George W. best.
I must go back and check my prior Rumsfield thread
To see if Aqua or Dutchess tried to win him instead.

Maybe no one wants the 2004 quilt engagement calendar.
The only thing rhyming with THAT is "salamander."
And that's OK with me because I could keep it too.
Although frankly Maggie's due for a gift or two.

Well this is my current thinking, and you can see that it's muddled.
It must be the sherry, all pooled in a big puddle
In this huge glass from which I claim to be drinking
But truth is even I don't know what I'm thinking.

So help me out and let me know what your call.
Just who should get that Rumsfield doll.
Who needs and wants a calendar best?
Tell me before 8 and maybe a gift you'll wrest.

[FreeTheHostages]

ROFL!! That was *Very* good. I love the "way out west" rhyme. Wonderfully creative.

[FreeTheHostages]

Yes, and plus we're just having fun and chatting too. Happy you buzzed us and I love that Merry Christmas card! :)

[Pippin]

I'm doing fine! :O)

How about you?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thank you very much. I'm enjoying my Christmas break and wrapping some presents, lurking a bit and posting a bit. Just taking it easy.

[FreeTheHostages]

Wrapping presents! I'm jealous! I've some serious shopping to do.

[Mama_Bear]

Such a clever idea for a Christmas post, FRee!

All the gifts are wonderful and I have no idea who should get what. I will leave that up to our Finest FRiends to decide. I do agree that Sistah "#1 Bush-bot Dansy" should definitely get one of the Bush dolls.

Pippin, your cute poem has my vote. You put much thought into it, I can see. A jewel, I am? Thanks sweet person, that takes some of the sting out of T Man's "Mama_Bear should get nothin'" comment LOL - and I thought he liked me. :-(

Dansy, have safe trip and a wonderful Christmas with your family. Let us know that you have arrived safely if you can.

Like Billie, I wish I could stay around today, but I can't. I must get busy on my to-do list and get the weekend thread ready to post.

Hugs all around. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

---

I could be wrong but if I had to guess. I think Mama_bear would like George W. best.

Yes, FReezie. How did you know? LOL...(I don't want to be greedy.....but I REALLY, REALLY want the (other) George W doll!!.....but I will be happy with whatever everyone else decides.)

[FreeTheHostages]

Hmmm, I'm seeing that you have a LOT of good entries in my old Rumsfield thread for the Rumsfield doll.

Hmmm, hmmmm.

[Mama_Bear]

Bush, he's our man!
His troops captured Saddam,
the tyrant who coveted spam!
The dems are now in the can!

See, you CAN write poetry. Very good Sistah!

No, I don't quilt, I also crochet (sort of, LOL).