Family's decision to wait triggered wonderful day

My most memorable Christmas story goes like this:

It was back in 1984. On Dec. 22, I had gone into labor with my first child. Like a lot of first children, my son decided to take his time and come into the world in his own way. (A precursor of things to come, I guess!)

Anyway, after a very long night and into the next day, my boy finally made his entrance. Unfortunately, I had to have a Caesarean section and was to spend the next five days in the hospital.

I hated to miss the celebration, but there was nothing I could do. Well, my family came up with the idea of "holding off Christmas" until I was out of the hospital and could come.

They all decided to leave the presents unopened, the turkey and all the trimmings for another day, all the decorations up just like they were - and wait for me.

When I finally made it over to my Mummy's house on Jan. 1, everything was just as it was before I went into the hospital. Everyone waited for me to be there with them.

To this day, I still remember how special my family made me feel by waiting. It was one of the best Christmases of my life - one I will always remember.

On a different note: Thank you for referring to it as "classic mail" (in the "Tell us a Christmas Story" invitation). My husband works for the Post Office, and it has been a very good life for us.

Oh, and by the way, my boy (will be 24 on Dec. 22) and my girl is 22. (She came at Thanksgiving, another holiday spent in the hospital, but that's a different story!)

Jo Judge, Corvallis

Editor's note: Check out Thursday's Gazette-Times for more memorable Christmas stories from readers.

Crisis in Gaza is horrific, even if not like Holocaust

Reading Rachel Peck's letter of Dec. 18, "We're not witnessing a modern Holocaust," in response to my earlier letter, two things come to mind: how our different perspectives may be formed by our different news sources; and what constitutes a humanitarian crisis in each of our minds.

To me, this is a humanitarian crisis: 1.5 million people (half of them 17 years old or younger) living in the densest concentration on the planet, with no freedom of movement (they cannot leave Gaza by land, air or water), 45 percent of the children suffering from acute anemia, 75 percent of the people suffering from malnutrition, widespread deafness among children due to sonic booms, widespread mental disorders and acute depression, no access to their internationally recognized waters (because Israeli military fire on their boats, kill or maim, and confiscate the fishing boats) to fish and feed a hungry population, no access to materials to repair greenhouses (destroyed by military) and other infrastructure (including water and sewage) because the borders are sealed.

The people of Gaza spend 12 hours a day without power, a death sentence to the severely ill in hospitals. There are few drugs and little medicine, including no cancer medication. More than 230 Gazans died last year, denied exit visas in order to get proper medical care.

But it's not only the Palestinians who are denied freedom of movement. Israel denies entry into Gaza to international human rights observers (even from the U.N.) and journalists. Why?

Valori George, Corvallis

Nativity scene OK in public if equal time given

I was conflicted about your poll on Nativity scenes in public buildings. I would answer yes to this, as long as religious scenes from other perspectives also are allowed.

Questions like this can be the source of very misleading statistics, which people then twist to fit their agenda.

Kirk Newburgh, Corvallis

Expect the unexpected, and take responsibility

Jolene Ballentine (Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12) hopes that "someday the time will return when people understand they are accountable for their own choices." Exactly. A wise NRA instructor in a gun-safety class once stressed that whenever I take a weapon into my hands, I am accountable - not someone else.

I regularly drive through Alsea to and from Waldport and Corvallis. I've noticed some drivers seem to think comfortable seating, climate control, and a sound system absolves them of accountability. That stretch of Highway 34 does have blind corners without shoulders, but that doesn't deter some drivers, who behave as if the laws of physics do not apply to their vehicles. One white pickup regularly passes at speeds more than double the posted limit on corners with no visibility, on rainy Friday evenings. Irresponsible drivers like that give the rest of us a bad name.

I once encountered a wrecked sedan, spun out and upside-down on a blind curve near Alsea. The wreck and emergency responders blocked the road, still setting flares. The posted limit was 25 mph. At that speed, I safely stopped. Other drivers have passed me there at twice that speed. I've encountered fishermen assembling gear in the roadway, laughing teens and pre-teens forgetful of where they're walking, deer staring into my headlights, and one pickup parked in the highway while the driver relieved himself.

SLOW DOWN! Expect the unexpected! Be READY to STOP! Stop blaming other people for your unwillingness to be accountable for your actions.

Max G. Geier, Corvallis

Despite cold hard truths, have a Merry X-mas

A recurring theme this time of year is that of parents agonizing on whether to tell their little darlings that Santa does or does not exist and that all the toys are not made by elves at the North Pole.

The cold hard truth (cold-hearted truth?) is that, alas, good ole St Nick is just a purchasing agent for Target, Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us, who buys toys and X-mas trinkets from sweatshops in China, Indonesia and other places where child-labor and women work long hours for peanuts. It is the true picture of all those must-have-them toys for our good girls and boys that are sold by megastores that extracted volume discounts from their suppliers.

This hardly squares with the myth of a jolly old elf beaming as he promises each child who climbs on his lap to bring those much-longed-for presents (as shown on TV). The real message of peace and hope is lost when the spirit of the holidays is turned into a tool of merchants to help their bottom line. Saint Nick and the obsequious X-mas tree even infiltrated non-Christian places such as Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, et al., where buying gifts is now considered a civic duty.

Nevertheless, have a Merry X-mas and health and happiness in the new year (and would that not be the best gift of all?).

Leo de Vogel, Corvallis