Bob & Bonnie Horning

Everyone loves A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was written and first aired on Dec. 9th 1965. What some folks don't know is that it almost never aired. According to wikipedia, the broadcasting company, CBS didn't like the story itself, and the use of jazz music didn't thrill them either. Then they balked at Linus reciting the scriptures of the Gospel of Luke 2:8-14. They wrongly thought that no sponsor would stand for it and it would lose money. It has in fact been the most successful, timeless Christmas animation of all time and still runs each and every year bringing the highest amount of advertising dollars, more than any other special. And to the surprise of the network execs... Linus' recitation was hailed by critics such as Harriet Van Horne of the New York World-Telegram who said, "Linus' reading of the story of the Nativity was, quite simply, the dramatic highlight of the season."

And can you think of any more classic musical material than Christmas Time or the theme Linus and Lucy? Skating was another of my favorites by the music master behind the scenes, the late Vince Guaraldi and his trio.

So for this moment and on behalf of Charles Shultz, who insisted it run exactly the way he intended or it wouldn't run at all... "the time for all, that children call, their favorite time of year..." and I suggest you repeat it with the voice of Linus in your head...

Luke 2:8-14 (King James Version)

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Merry Christmas to all my rain friends...

This is what I got for my beautiful wife this year... after wracking my brain... this is what I came up with... at the end, you'll have a chance to make your own gift to someone special...

Merry Christmas everyone.

This totally amazed me. While shopping for a DVD on Amazon.com, I discovered that among the 1st page of my searchable items, 3 pornographic movies were on the list. Before I could hit the back button or look away my eyes were looking at pornographic material. Now 3 years ago, I might have been OK with this... but not anymore, I'm a much different person now. Knowing that any child can get a little peak at something like this, much less with a paypal account or a parent sanctioned credit card ORDER one! I'm sure there are many ways a kid could pull this off without alerting mom and dad! I know I could have when I was young.

I blurred the photos and highlighted what came up. These were not just R rated or soft porn... not that it makes much difference. These were openly advertising beastiality and homosexuality.

Now I don't just rush in with this. I did send a note alerting them because maybe the higher ups weren't aware. This is part of the response I received. It looked pretty generic in nature, so I will report anything I receive further in fairness to this company.

"Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts; we do support the right of every individual to choose his or her own reading material or entertainment.

As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item they might be seeking. That selection includes some items which many people may find objectionable. Therefore, the items offered on our website represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of topics.

Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we'll continue to make controversial works available in the United States and everywhere else, except where they're prohibited by law."

I thought it was unlawful to display porn openly in a public forum. This is not an art museum, nor could this be misconstrued in any way as art. Another part of their response told me how to search better and how keywords work and such. I searched for exactly: New DVD releases.

Please, please, please no matter how convenient it is to order from Amazon, don't! Thank you for your time.

Bob

This just came across my desk this morning from a client... the cards would be nice... but I think God would love to show us a miracle and give Hannah and her family the gift of life this Christmas.

Please join me on bended knees before the throne- Bob

(Pic of me [Sheri Phautz] and Hannah attached. This was taken a week before her diagnosis. It was the day I asked her to be my flower girl. She was so excited that she put on her princess costume to 'practice' :)

This is the true story of my 5-yr old 2nd cousin, Hannah Garman, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a rare and incurable brain tumor. She has been given 12 weeks to live and is currently in her 7th week. She was going to be the flower girl in our wedding in May, but was diagnosed a week after we asked her to be the flower girl. This is especially sad because her mother died 2 yrs ago from breast cancer.

Right now she has lost most of her motor skills. She is confined to bed and cannot really do anything or play with the gifts she is getting from people, but she LOVES getting cards - she has gotten so many from people she does not know and just loves to have grandma read about the people who send them and see their pictures and is so proud of all her cards. Her room is just filled with cards.

When asked what she wants for Christmas she said she wants to see how many Christmas cards she can get. Many people have passed this wish along to their churches, prayer groups, friends and family. There are school groups where children are making her cards. People are including pictures so she can see who it is that is sending her the card.

If you would like to help with her wish, you can send a card to her at:
Hannah Garman
704 Orchard Rd
Lititz, PA 17543

THANKS! Feel free to pass this along to your own prayer group, church, school, etc. Let's see if we can have the cards coming in big postal bags for her this Christmas, since it will be her last holiday.

P.S. You can also send my email to anyone you forward this to, if they have questions. sheripie@hotmail.com

read more about Hannah, see pics, & stay updated on her progress at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgarman

This just came across my desk this morning from a client... the cards would be nice... but I think God would love to show us a miracle and give Hannah and her family the gift of life this Christmas.

Please join me on bended knees before the throne- Bob

(Pic of me [Sheri Phautz] and Hannah attached. This was taken a week before her diagnosis. It was the day I asked her to be my flower girl. She was so excited that she put on her princess costume to 'practice' :)

This is the true story of my 5-yr old 2nd cousin, Hannah Garman, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a rare and incurable brain tumor. She has been given 12 weeks to live and is currently in her 7th week. She was going to be the flower girl in our wedding in May, but was diagnosed a week after we asked her to be the flower girl. This is especially sad because her mother died 2 yrs ago from breast cancer.

Right now she has lost most of her motor skills. She is confined to bed and cannot really do anything or play with the gifts she is getting from people, but she LOVES getting cards - she has gotten so many from people she does not know and just loves to have grandma read about the people who send them and see their pictures and is so proud of all her cards. Her room is just filled with cards.

When asked what she wants for Christmas she said she wants to see how many Christmas cards she can get. Many people have passed this wish along to their churches, prayer groups, friends and family. There are school groups where children are making her cards. People are including pictures so she can see who it is that is sending her the card.

If you would like to help with her wish, you can send a card to her at:
Hannah Garman
704 Orchard Rd
Lititz, PA 17543

THANKS! Feel free to pass this along to your own prayer group, church, school, etc. Let's see if we can have the cards coming in big postal bags for her this Christmas, since it will be her last holiday.

P.S. You can also send my email to anyone you forward this to, if they have questions. sheripie@hotmail.com

read more about Hannah, see pics, & stay updated on her progress at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgarman