Here is something I saw a few months ago. Enjoy! Eric Storm ********************************************** The Christmas Present There's a wood by the house where I live where I walk each and every day. It's always a pleasure and never enough; and it's hours, I'll spend, if I may. As I walk, I talk to the animals, for I believe, they talk back to me. I watch them, as if time were not passing, as though, they were there just for me. There are times, when I stop and marvel at the beauty of a single tree. Sometimes, I find myself laughing at the antics of a pied-billed grebe. I don't think that I'll ever quite know why I go as much as I do. It never fails to enchant me, it's something I just have to do. It's the chattering squirrel, twittering birds, the sun filtering through autumn leaves. It's the pine-laden paths and the animal tracks. It's a gift that each day, I receive. Now is the midst of the Christmas season. If there was just one thing I could give; It would be to wrap in a present just an hour in the woods where I live. I know this may seem rather silly for it's not something I can package and pass; But I believe, as do many others, it's the thought that matters the most. In a season gone to frills and to fancy, where money now buys most our cheer, Give a thought to the old ideas, to the true meaning of this time of year. Spend an hour with the earth and her nature and I promise that you'll surely see, The truest meaning of the season . . . The one best present you could receive. ************************************************
