A typical Christmas - is there such a thing?
I punched out at 2am. It was a stellar night and I felt quite content heading into Christmas day. The head hit the pillow; I was out. It was not long after (4:08am to be exact) that I was woken by merry makers belting out their Christmas carols at full volume. I got up, rubbed my eyes and walked to the front door, all the while thinking this was a bad dream. I opened up the door and found that to my astonishment that this really was happening. There was about 15 youth singing Jingle Bells at top volume and more than slightly off key. I chuckled to myself as I opened up the door. “This should be interesting.” I thought to myself.
When the door opened the youth began singing, “we wish you a merry Christmas.” I wondered if they were serious. I stopped them after a few minutes and asked them what time it was. None of them knew the answer. So, I asked the one guy with a watch to tell the others. “4:08am,” he replied. I made sure that everyone knew this. Then I asked them what time the average Liberian gets out of bed. Someone responded, “close to 6.” I laughed. “Why are you wishing me a merry Christmas at 4 in the morning?” They told me that they were raising money to play soccer across town. I encouraged them in a still groggy voice that they would do better to sing at a saner hour of 8am. I heard the next day that they went to several different houses waking people up singing at ungodly hours in unknown keys with invented words. In retrospect, it was quite entertaining.
The morning was pleasant. We had a brunch at Anna’s place. Pineapple…cinnamon buns…home made bread…cheese…grapes…coffee. What could be better? Perhaps many things, but you couldn’t beat the view. The waves crashed continually on a lazy Sunday morning, beckoning us to come and test fate. We answered the call…
The waves were big, intense and coming in just right. We got royally crushed. At the same time we rode in some sweet waves that curled in perfectly. My friend Kevin Fryatt claimed the waves to be “purely nutty.” An accurate rating, indeed. I could actually stand up on the board and ride. This was quite an improvement from my normal stand up and crash. I must admit that bailing can be quite fun. The bigger the wave, the bigger the crash. The laws of physics I learned in grade 11 hold true. I have tested most of them: gravity, velocity, and most of all Newton’s Second Law of Thermodynamics. It all leads to a great loss of energy (entropy, Mr. Schmidt – [my grade 11 physics teacher]).
Anyway, the day ended with a BBQ and some good times. All in all Liberia is a pretty good place to live. I trust that life is treating you well and that your Christmas was full of fun, egg nog, and memories of a good year.
Peace,
Marcel
When the door opened the youth began singing, “we wish you a merry Christmas.” I wondered if they were serious. I stopped them after a few minutes and asked them what time it was. None of them knew the answer. So, I asked the one guy with a watch to tell the others. “4:08am,” he replied. I made sure that everyone knew this. Then I asked them what time the average Liberian gets out of bed. Someone responded, “close to 6.” I laughed. “Why are you wishing me a merry Christmas at 4 in the morning?” They told me that they were raising money to play soccer across town. I encouraged them in a still groggy voice that they would do better to sing at a saner hour of 8am. I heard the next day that they went to several different houses waking people up singing at ungodly hours in unknown keys with invented words. In retrospect, it was quite entertaining.
The morning was pleasant. We had a brunch at Anna’s place. Pineapple…cinnamon buns…home made bread…cheese…grapes…coffee. What could be better? Perhaps many things, but you couldn’t beat the view. The waves crashed continually on a lazy Sunday morning, beckoning us to come and test fate. We answered the call…
The waves were big, intense and coming in just right. We got royally crushed. At the same time we rode in some sweet waves that curled in perfectly. My friend Kevin Fryatt claimed the waves to be “purely nutty.” An accurate rating, indeed. I could actually stand up on the board and ride. This was quite an improvement from my normal stand up and crash. I must admit that bailing can be quite fun. The bigger the wave, the bigger the crash. The laws of physics I learned in grade 11 hold true. I have tested most of them: gravity, velocity, and most of all Newton’s Second Law of Thermodynamics. It all leads to a great loss of energy (entropy, Mr. Schmidt – [my grade 11 physics teacher]).
Anyway, the day ended with a BBQ and some good times. All in all Liberia is a pretty good place to live. I trust that life is treating you well and that your Christmas was full of fun, egg nog, and memories of a good year.
Peace,
Marcel
Comments