Twas The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night
Before Christmas
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a mouse

The stockings all hung
By the chimney with care
In hopes
That St. Nicholas
Soon would be there

The children were nestled
All safe in their beds
While visions of sugarplums
Danced in their heads

And mom in her kerchief
And I in my cap,
Had just settled down
For a long winters nap

When out on the lawn
There arose such a clatter
I sprang from my bed
To see what was the matter

Away to the window
I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters
And threw up the sash

The moon on the breast
Of the new fallen snow
Gave the lustre
Of midday
To object below

When what
To my wandering eyes
Should appear
But a miniature sleigh
And eight tiny reindeer

With a little ol driver
So lively and quick
I knew in a moment
It must be St. nick

More rapid than eagles
His courses they came
As he whistled
And shouted
And called
Them by name

Now dasher
Now dancer
Now prancer
Now vixen
On comet
On cupid
On donder
An blitzen

To the top
Of the porch
To the top
Of the wall
Now dash-away
Dash-away
Dash-away all

As dry leaves
Before the wild
Hurricane fly
When they meet
With an obstacle
Mount to the sky

So up
To the housetop
The courses
They flew
With a sleigh
Full of toys
And St. Nicholas too

And then
In a twinkling
I heard on the roof
The prancing
And pawing
Of each little hoof

As I drew in my head
And was turning around
Down the chimney
St. Nicholas
Came with a bound

He was dressed
All in fur
From his head
To his foot
And his clothes
Were all tarnished
With ashes and soot

A bundle of toys
He had flung
On his back
And he looked
Like a peddler
Just opening
His pack

His eyes
How they twinkle
His dimples how merry
His cheeks
Were like roses
His nose like a cherry

His drawl little mouth
Was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin
Was a white as the snow

The stump of his pipe
He held tight
In his teeth
And the smoke it
Encircled his head
Like a wreath

He had a broad face
And a round little belly
That shook when he laughed
Like a bowl full of jelly

He was chubby and plump
A right jolly old elf
I laughed when I saw him
In spite of myself

A wink of his eye
And a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know
I had nothing to dread

He spoke not a word
But went straight
To his work
And filled
All the stockings
Then turned
With a jerk

An laying a finger
Along side his nose
An giving a nod
Up the chimney
He rose

He sprang
To his sleigh
To his team
Gave a whistle
An away
They all flew
Like the down
Of a thistle

But I heard him exclaim
As he drove out of sight
Happy christmas to all
And to all a goodnight

cheersgif

Merry Christmas BAS.

Merry Christmas to all.

Thanks again to everyone who makes TheRx possible.

Merry Christmas All !

Recap in Rhyme

Now the year's in the books, and what do you say?

Was it wine and champagne or deer antler spray?

An emphatic thumbs-up? Maybe a veto.

No, not very clear. In fact, Incognito.

But think back a year and who'd disagree:

It's all Alabama, all SEC.

Soon Manti Te'o speaks with conviction

Of one special girl — turns out she's fiction.

What's more, it turns out this "girlfriend" is dead.

(Hey, he plays football. He wasn't pre-med.)

The truth proved elusive, just look at Lance.

It's all a big sham, those triumphs in France.

He sits with Oprah, says he's a liar,

His cycling pants now clearly on fire.

Darkness descends, the Super Bowl's wacko.

But let there be light, let there be Flacco.

Valentine's Day: Oscar Pistorius

Finds glory gone, his name notorious.

Daytona means NASCAR's ready to roll.

Danica wows 'em by winning the pole.

And then in one jaw-dropping boomerang

Dennis Rodman flies off to Pyongyang.

Wily diplomat or tattooed buffoon?

He's best friends forever with Kim Jong Un.

By March, it's a surge — the Heat have the goods.

Speaking of heat ... Lindsey Vonn, Tiger Woods.

Come tournament time, dear Harvard we hail.

Kevin Ware snaps his leg, one ghastly wail.

Louisville wins it under Pitino.

Toast to the champs with glasses of vino.

At Rutgers, Mike Rice is soon out of work,

Caught ranting on tape, a coach gone berserk.

Scott takes the Masters. He's decked out in green.

And that Chinese kid? What was he, 14?

Then in the rumble of clattering feet

It's mayhem and heartbreak on Boylston Street.

Jason Collins comes out, says that he's gay

(And still unemployed in the NBA).

Orb captures the Derby splashing through slop,

Runs fourth in the Preakness — Oxbow's on top.

Sergio's crack about Tiger is low.

He jokes of fried chicken then must eat crow.

For Tony Kanaan, it finally clicks.

Indy is his and he kisses the bricks.

Nadal rules Paris, a monarch on clay,

Like Louis XIV, back in the day.

Phil's runner-up at the Open once more —

Six times and counting for those keeping score.

LeBron soars again, the Spurs taken down.

It's June and it's time to re-Heat this crown.

Likewise, the Blackhawks go all the way up,

Getting familiar with hoisting the Cup.

Football camps open, a shadow looms large:

Aaron Hernandez and a murder charge.

Then a burden lifts and the deed is done:

A Brit, Andy Murray, wins Wimbledon.

Rivera trots in from the bullpen gates,

With All-Stars saluting one of the greats.

Next, a tale to delight every cynic:

A Florida anti-aging clinic

Is accused of dispensing PEDs,

And Major League Baseball puts on the squeeze.

It bans 13 players — very big news —

Among them Rodriguez and Nelson Cruz.

A-Rod's indignant with righteous fury

And sues everyone but cousin Yuri.

How's this for a ban? Manziel's docked a half.

The price, so it seems, for an autograph.

The Olympics near and the Russians try

To make sure the rainbow flag doesn't fly.

Pro football's lawsuit over head trauma

Ends in settlement, not courtroom drama.

At a New York court, though, tension heightens:

Nadal v. Novak, clash of the titans,

While a major force sweeps this arena —

Seventeen Grand Slam crowns for Serena.

On the bay, it's Oracle. Well done, mate.

A mighty comeback at the Golden Gate.

The Pirates light up the National League

While all baseball's ablaze with Yasiel Puig

And Michael Wacha (now go figure that)

And David Ortiz with pop in his bat.

Come the World Series, time for instruction

In disentangling rules of obstruction.

Beards rise to high fashion, scruffy and long.

There's no doubting these Red Sox — Boston Strong.

NFL coaches start dropping from stress.

The Dolphins' locker room is one fine mess.

Jonathan Martin cites verbal abuse.

Says Incognito: Hey, just hangin' loose.

But his slurs and threats offend most others

Not part of this muscled band of brothers.

It's now six times Jimmie Johnson is champ.

Does this guy ever take the exit ramp?

A seismic Iron Bowl — Auburn prevails,

The finish best measured on Richter scales.

Then soon it's quiet and we look about.

Where's Mariano to close the year out?

So we can put this to rest, nice and clean.

There's a big game coming: 2014.

Associated Press

Happy holidays to yall and yours. Be well.

christmas-toastgif

BAS.............Merry Christmas to you and your family............indy

Merry Christmas to all drunk-santagif