Once upon a time . . . a little glrl tried to make a living by selling matches in the street.
It was New Year’s Eve and the snowclad streets were deserted. From brightly lit windows came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. People were getting ready to bring in the New Year. But the poor little matchseller sat sadly beside the fountain. Her ragged dress and worn shawl did not keep out the cold and she tried to keep her bare feet from touching the frozen ground. She hadn’t sold one box of matches all day and she was frightened to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. It wouldn’t be much warmer anyway, in the draughty attic that was her home. The little girl’s fingers were stiff with cold. If only she could light a match! But what would her father say at such a waste! Falteringly she took out a match and lit it. What a nice warm flame! The little matchseller cupped her hand over it, and as she did so, she magically saw in its light a big brightly burning stove.
She held out her hands to the heat, but just then the match went out and the vision faded. The night seemed blacker than before and it was getting colder. A shiver ran through the little girl’s thin body.
Here’s a Politically correct Holiday Greetings for you my dear reader:
From me (“the wishor”) to you (“hereinafter called the wishee”) Please accept without obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all
… and a financially successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year, but with due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures or sects whose contributions to society have helped make our country for what it is, and having regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform or dietary preference of the wishee.
I love this poem and other poems by Billy Collins.
I like Billy Collins’ brand of poetry,
because it is frank,
honest and straight.
Unbound by conventions,
and devoid of any pretensions.
Like a fresh fruit
that is clear,
crisp and cool.
Poetry where
words find themselves
marching together
in the right place,
at the right time.
Not a word wasted,
or points left arguing
in deadlock.
Poetry that is
wearing
a pair of blue jeans,
clad in white
cotton shirt,
and shod with
a pair of sneakers.
I like Billy Collins’ poetry
because it is
in other words,
“Simple pero Rock”.
– s a m u e l b i l i b i t –
IV Augustus MMVII a.d.
This is one of the first emails I received for 2007, informing me that I won a UK lottery!!!
HELLO!!! YOU HAVE WON 250,000 POUNDS
from UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
12:20 am (12 hours ago)
date Jan 9, 2007 12:20 AM
subject HELLO!!! YOU HAVE WON 250,000POUNDS
mailed-by libero.it
Dear Winner,
Your email address was attached to ticket number: 023-0148-790-459 with
Serial number 5368/05 drew the lucky number:draw (#615): 04, 20, 23,
32, 34,08
Congratulations, you have just won yourself £250,000 (G.B.P) in the
thunderball online email lottery conducted by uk nationAL Lottery
in which e-mail addresses are picked randomly On Internet.Yours was
chosen this quarter.
All participants for the online version were selected randomly from
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over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are
listed
online. This promotion takes place weekly.
To file for your claim, please contact our fudiciary agent:
MR.PAUL WALES Email:paulwales_claimsagent101@yahoo.co.uk
FILL WITH DETAILS
1. Full Names:
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You can go to our online result site to prize breakdown:-
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Yours faithfully,
MAGARET COLLINS
ONLINE CO ORDINATOR
Of course April is still three months away but some people just wanted to advance the fool’s day. This is one of the internet scams by some idiots who are too stupid to send an email from Italy saying that you won a lottery in UK!!
It was New Year’s Eve and the snowclad streets were deserted. From brightly lit windows came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. People were getting ready to bring in the New Year. But the poor little matchseller sat sadly beside the fountain. Her ragged dress and worn shawl did not keep out the cold and she tried to keep her bare feet from touching the frozen ground. She hadn’t sold one box of matches all day and she was frightened to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. It wouldn’t be much warmer anyway, in the draughty attic that was her home. The little girl’s fingers were stiff with cold. If only she could light a match! But what would her father say at such a waste! Falteringly she took out a match and lit it. What a nice warm flame! The little matchseller cupped her hand over it, and as she did so, she magically saw in its light a big brightly burning stove.
Here’s a Politically correct Holiday Greetings for you my dear reader: 
