And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make. Words expressing the love for humanity, the love of your love, the love of your life…all addressed within that one lyric. Sense thought of that on his walk, a walk he took every day to get to a school, that no longer loved him, and no longer existed.
Sense grew up in a modest town outside of Boston, near the blue hills, near the concerts every summer and the cliffs where kids would jump off into an uncertain depth of water so cold, that if in long enough, hypothermia was bound to happen. Sense knew little of these cliffs. He knew people who had jumped off of them. They seemed to make it unscathed. However Sense was never the one to try something stupid.
Sense felt stupid that day, as he walked towards the school, that had burned down in a firestorm, that never happened, and which never existed. He died that day. But that never happened, and Sense still walked past that school, every day, on his way to work.
The time was about 3:15, his watch, what watch? Sense never wore a watch. The phone, which he never used, because Sense didn’t have a lot of friends, rang the drone of digital keys of a store bought piano.
It must have been a wrong number, he didn’t recognize the area code, he had never used this phone before in his life. Or maybe he used it all the time. But when that dial tone went off, Sense answered it. Who knew this phone call would change his life.
Jason, made the paper
GUEST COLUMN: Dear Santa, How about lump of oil?
BY STEVE WRIGHT
Monday, December 7, 2009 2:16 AM EST
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THE FOLLOWING letters to and from Santa Claus are partly the creation of Steve Wright of Attleboro’s imagination, and partly the product of his experience in working with the Attleboro Council of Churches’ Homes With Heart program.
Dear Santa,Mom says that you know who is naughty and nice. So you already know I am a good kid.
Santa, I have a couple of unusual requests this year. So I wanted to write to you earlier than normal. My family is having what mom calls “a hard time” this must be popular because my best friends’ mom said they were too.
My father seems to be worried about the bills. People call the house at night asking for money my father says “we just don’t have.”
My mom will tell my father “things will turn around honey, don’t worry.” I am not quite sure what that means but I don’t dare ask.
Santa, is a layoff a good or bad thing? Well the reason I am writing this year is to ask you to bend the rules for some of us kids. Like I said earlier, I have been on the list for good kids but would like to be moved to the bad kid list. These children usually get coal in their stocking, am I right?
Well nobody has coal anymore so I wanted to know if you would consider heating oil for my gift. Heating oil sounds messy, so please don’t bring it in the house; mom would have a fit. There is a short pipe that sticks out of the back of the house. You can put it in there. A red ribbon will be tied to the pipe on the house so you don’t make a mistake.
Santa, our house is cold and dad says “don’t anyone touch the dial.” I am too small to touch the dial but I might just touch it when I get bigger. That should qualify me right there as a bad kid.
Little OneDear Little One,
Santa thanks you for your letter and appreciates your new idea. It is very original!
Some of your neighbors read your letter and want to donate to the local fuel assistance program. So I will make sure your family gets heating oil and will keep you on the list for those children that are nice.
Mrs. Claus does not want me to carry heating oil on the sleigh but there are programs in your area that supply heating oil to people having “a hard time.”
Tell your mom or dad to call these numbers:
Self Help @ 508-226-4192
Attleboro Energy (Attleboro Only) 508-222-2933
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul @ 508-409-1452
Neighbors Helping Neighbors (North Attleboro Only) 508-222-2933
See you soon.
Love,
Santa