Seattle Christmas

The Night Before
Christmas
In
Seattle

'Twas the night before Christmas up in the Northwest,
And the folks in Seattle were feeling their best.

Some last- minute shoppers were paying their fare
To jump on the monorail to Pioneer Square.

Kids urging their parents, saying, "Hurry, be quick,
Or we'll miss that great Christmas Parade of the Ships."

We must hang our stockings, and Nicks cookies must bake;
Please, let's get going or he'll have none to take."

So mamas and papas, finished up what they'd started,
And soon left behind a forlorn Pike Place Market.

This was, after all, a most heavenly season
And they'd let their kids have what they wanted -- within reason!

Most people's hearts were light as a feather,
And not many were giving much thought to the weather.

There had been a light rain for most part of the day
And now snow was blowing across Elliot Bay.

The snowflakes got bigger as the storm spread inland,
And couples snuggled close as they walked hand in hand.

Dads teased their youngsters with, "Oh, dear, no!
Maybe Santa got stuck and his reindeer won't go!"

Now as we all know, nothing stops old St. Nick,
And the routes that he travels are most carefully picked.

As he headed up north and flew over Rainier,
He saw beautiful lights of Seattle appear!

The reindeer were cruising just as fast as they could,
Their most favorite folks lived in this neck of the woods!

Then all of a sudden visibility was gone,
And the number of miles Santa saw ahead: None!

Where were the Kingdome and Discovery Park?
He stared and he squinted, but things were so dark.

To Dasher and Dancer he yelled out, "Whoa!"
But before they had time to begin to go slow

Something strange had appeared right there in their path,
And if Nick's hands had not been so full he might laugh.

The last thing he remembered, he'd flown by a seagull
And now here he was, stuck atop the Space Needle!

Seattle Christmas Continued

He pushed and he pulled and he twisted -- no luck.
On this night before Christmas stuck 600 feet up!

What was he to do, there was no time to delay.
His children would suffer if he didn't get on his way.

Well, not only was Nick in this dire predicament
But below in the restaurant the mayor pulled a ligament.

He was there with his family and some of his friends
When they heard a loud crash and were spinning on end!

The revolving restaurant was out of control,
The chef hanging on for dear life, the poor soul!

Well, no one was hurt, except for their pride,
Some even confessed they'd enjoyed the thrill ride.

Now when they'd slowed down and reached normal pace,
Removed gravy from hairdos and egg from their face,

They heard a loud yelling from way up on high
Went out to the deck and gazed up at the sky --

They couldn't believe what had happened to Nick,
And when they thought of the kids, well, it just made them sick.

Something had to be done and done right away.
They yelled back up to Nick and had this to say:

"Don't worry, dear Santa, we'll all go for help,
Try to stay calm, and please, Rudolph, don't yelp.

"We'll find a way to remove you from there;
You look so ungainly stuck up in the air."

Seattle Chrismas Cont.

So the mayor of Seattle said he would take charge,
And use KOMO News 4 to address the public at large.

Santa needed some help from all who were around,
From Lake Washington out toward Puget Sound.

The guys at the navy shipyard making merry
Said they'd like to help, as did those on the ferry.

Then the mayor, well, he heard from Pacific Science Center,
'Cause the brilliant nerds there said they would be mentors.

So they put forth a plan that they knew just might work,
And the mayor, when he heard it, felt quite a perk!

A call was then placed to the Boeing Airport folk,
Who at first when they listened thought it was a joke:

Santa Claus stuck with his reindeer up high
On Seattle's Space Needle?--they laughed till they cried!

But they got in the spirit with all strength they could muster
And soon had adapted two very large thrusters.

They were quickly transported out to the Space Needle,
Then the thrusters were hoisted to Santa, who wheedled

Them onto his sleigh just as quick as a wink,
And he laughed and he giggled and felt in the pink!

But, alas and alack, that didn't quite make it--
A little more power was needed to shake it.

So they turned to Plan B and with paper and pen,
Listed the names of the tall and strong men.

Now, there in Seattle are heroes galore,
Among them are sportsmen whom all fans adore.

The Sonics, the Seahawks, and Mariners, too,
If they helped unstick Santa, 'twould be quite a coup!

A ladder they'd build made of men strong and tall,
To reach up and push Santa, sled, reindeer, and all!

The Seahawks as foundation, the Mariners cliimbed next,
On the top were the Sonics; They shoved, but were vexed.

The crowd was so sad, and a small child who stood by
Said, "Please let me help push St. Nick to the sky."

So he climbed to the top and yelled, "All push on three,"
So everyone counted as loud as could be.

Then with one final effort to the heavens the sleigh soared,
The crowd and the athletes and child, how they roared!

And a most thankful Santa called back in delight,
"Merry Christmas, dear Seattle, a most grateful Good Night!"

Mini Houses

I've always loved to look at mini houses, now we have some in the house. All of these are the ones we own. The one above is my favorite.

Christmas in Bullhead

A BULLHEAD CITY CHRISTMAS

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the town,
No noses were frozen, no snow fluttered down.

No children in flannels were tucked into bed;
They all wore their shorty pajamas instead.

To find wreaths of bougainvilleas was not very hard,
For bougainvilleas grew in every back yard.

In front of the houses the Daddies and Moms
Were adorning the cactus and Arizona palms.

The sleeping kiddies were dreaming in glee.
Hoping to find water skis under the tree.

They all knew that Santa was well on his way
But, he was on a jet ski instead if a sleigh.

As soon as Santa arrived, he started his work,
For he hadn't a second to linger or shirk.

He whizzed around town, all up and down the river,
Through the warm Arizona breeze without even a shiver.

The lights from the casinos gave Bullhead a glow,
And lighted the way for Santa below.

As he jumped from the ski, he gave a wee chuckle,
For he was dressed in bermudas with a wee turquoise buckle.

There weren’’t many chimneys but that caused no gloom,
For Santa came in through the screened family room.

He stopped at each house, but stayed only a minute,
Emptying his sack of everything in it.

Then before he departed, he treated himself,
To a glass of cactus juice left on the shelf.

He turned with a bounce and jumped on his skis,
Remembering he had more houses to see.

He shifted the gears and stepped on the gas,
And up the Colorado River he went like a flash.

And I heard him exclaim as he went on his way,
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, BULLHEAD CITY, I WISH I COULD STAY."