As a rule, I hate large group text messages. Once one gets started, and people start chiming in, the ding, ding, dings are a huge distraction.
But there are exceptions.
One came Friday, as I was trying to figure out how best to explain the mental tug-of-war that Christmas brings to me.
“As we approach Christmas,” the text began, “I’m always reminded of the most precious gift ever given, the gift of God’s only Son, an act of true, selfless, amazing love.
“But I’m also reminded of the gift of the incredible people I’ve met in the course of my life. I want you to know how very special you are to me and how thankful I am to know you and call you my friend!”
I found the message both sweet and a bit surprising, as it came from someone with whom I have what would be described as a casual, professional relationship.
It’s possible — maybe more than possible — that I was included by mistake with the 16 other recipients. It might have been meant for another “Tim,” but when the sender was going through his contact list of friends, he pressed my name in error. Still I thanked him, and told him I was touched.
Until he tells me differently, I’m going to take it as one of those divinely inspired moments that was intended to lift my spirits, when otherwise they might be down.
This has been a bah-humbug couple of weeks at the newspaper.
We have been dealing with the failure of an electrical drive, which knocked out our ability to run color on our printing press. Anything that had to have color in the Commonwealth or the other newspapers we print has had to be redirected to other printing plants, mostly at sister papers in Greenville and McComb.
Over the past two weeks, that’s been about 50 press runs that had to be sent elsewhere, involving a lot of extra communication, trucking arrangements and stress.
In the meantime, we’ve been pushing to get our press running at full capacity again.
A press drive is not something that you can buy off the shelf. It has to be custom-manufactured, and the installation involves electricians and electronics technicians from multiple companies, on site and off.
We were trying to pull this off while a four-day Christmas weekend and an arctic storm front were both bearing down. It would have taken a miracle to make it happen. It didn’t.
So we will be back at it next week, now hoping for a New Year’s miracle.
Sometimes, Christmas can be overwhelming. It’s so busy, such pressure to fit everything in. You eat too much, sleep too little, and set yourself up for disappointment when the day itself doesn’t turn into the greeting-card experience you’ve been chasing since growing out of childhood. Even the blizzard of gift-opening leaves you deflated, wondering if you’ve again let materialism dominate the holiday.
But there are moments of this season, like none other, when all feels right with the world. Like driving down Grand Boulevard at night and seeing lines of Christmas lights dancing between the oak trees above. Or having a stranger, while you’re shivering at a gas pump, smile broadly and wish you a “Merry Christmas.”
Or getting a text message from out of the blue that inspires rather than irritates.
Peace on earth, good will toward men.
That’s what the angels said the birth of the Christ child should evoke. More than 2,000 years later, it remains the most satisfying manifestation of the season.
- Contact Tim Kalich at 662-581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
