Dear Editor,
I wish to reproduce most of an Xmas greeting I penned to your newspaper some eight years ago which is still relevant today.
“There is a sad face of Xmas which is obscured to us as we are caught up in the frolicking and commercialism of the Yuletide season. The vacant chairs will remind us of those who have passed and others lost to migration.
“And there is another sombre side of Xmas which is that of the elderly, our senior citizens no longer in the confines of their homes but having suffered transferred occupancy to government and private old folks homes.
“There is still another gloomy face of Xmas as we consider the sick and those incarcerated in jails. For the latter, the Xmas lunch is no substitute for freedom.
“Lastly, what of our children who are disappointed on Xmas morn as their stockings do not represent their wishes seen on TV or worse yet Santa forgot the address.
“But there ought not to be sad faces if we were to celebrate the true meaning of Xmas-the spiritual one… Nevertheless, we have to face reality; let us strive to make at least one person happy for the season.“
A Merry Xmas to you, staff and subscribers.
Yours faithfully,
V O Patrick