Eisboch wrote:
"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ps.com...

JohnH wrote:
A nice story, although I'm surprised to see you using the word
"Christmas"
in such a favorable light.


I'm not "anti-Christmas".

But I'm sure the holiday has a different meaning for me than it does
for many, maybe even most people.


Nice reply. Please, end it there. But, nooooooo.....the pot needs to be
stirred... so he adds:


If I speak of Christmas in a favorable light, perhaps I'm motivated by
respect and appreciation for something that's pretty important to a lot
of people. But let's not go there, it's likely to turn into a nasty OT
fight that the NG doesn't need. I thought the stories about the
shipwrecked Christmas tree boats and the seagoing family that refused
to accept defeat were at least marginally appropriate for a boating NG,
but we can be sure that a discussion of Christmas, almost certain to
become religious or sac-religious, will simply push this group father
and faster down the road back to a snarling flame fest. All the
political posts this week are enough to do that on their own.


Eisboch


That's not stirring the pot, Richard. That's

1) expressing that it is important to respect and appreciate things
that may be important to others

2) *declining* the opportunity to get into a debate about Christmas in
order to preserve some civility in the NG. (That's more of a refusal to
stir the pot, if anything)

I sure appreciate your "nice reply" comment, but it could just as
easily have been placed at the end of the post.