Strange Holiday Visions

For most of us, most of the time, Christmas is about Mary and Joseph in the cattle shed at Bethlehem, or about a merry red-clad elf hauling gifts to soon-to-be-delighted children.  But a few people offer creative and decidedly odd counterpoint to these traditional visions of Christmas.

One is Tim Burton who, with Walt Disney Pictures, brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas.  This 1993 production opens with Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, bored to tears by the same ol' boo routine in Halloween Town.  Wandering through the woods, Jack discovers another holiday village, Christmas Town, which promises him the change of pace he craves.  Unfortunately, Jack's plans go wildly off-track.  Santa Claus is kidnapped... Jack takes his place... and Jack's Halloween Town friends make Christmas gifts which, when Jack-o-Claus delivers them, spread chaos through Christmas Town.  (My favorite is a toy duck with shark's teeth.)  When Jack's Christmas project is literally shot down, he sees the error of his ways.  Jack frees Santa in time for the jolly elf to deliver real gifts to the world's children.  Burton's film ends as residents of Halloween Town celebrate Jack's return to normal — including vampires on ice skates playing hockey with a pumpkin puck.

My second seasonally strange film is the short, thoroughly delightful Dr. Seuss tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  This 1966 animation of the Christmas classic features Boris Karloff's masterful reading of Seuss' text, and Thurl (Tony the Tiger) Ravenscroft singing the theme song, You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch. "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.  You really are a heel.  You're as cuddly as a cactus, And as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch!"  You can't watch the Grinch's assault on Who-Ville's Christmas, followed by his redemption, without hearing resonance with Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

These two films ought to be required reading for people in Congress who, as I write, are refusing to authorize a two-month extension of the reduction in payroll tax.  If this situation continues, American workers will see their taxes rise by $700-1,200 in the coming year.  Now, with the economy slowing dragging itself out of the ditch, this political game-playing will reduce economic demand in 2012, and possibly persuade this year's Christmas shoppers to curb their spending.  Much finger pointing is going on today.  Conservatives in the House have taken upon themselves the combined roles of Ebenezer Scrooge, Jack Skellington, and the Grinch, and like amateur actors, threaten to lose themselves in the role.

Heavens!  What can I say about people who spend barely two-and-a-half days in the nation's Capital, and the rest of the week at home wooing campaign contributors?  What can I say about people who produce little of value and complain about the size and cost of government, while at the same time paying themselves $174,000 per year, plus lush medical and retirement benefits?  Actually, I'd rather sing to Dan Benishek MD, my Tea Party place-holder in Michigan's 1st Congressional District:

You're a mean one, Dr. B!...
You're a nasty, wasty skunk!
Your heart is full of unwashed socks...." •••