Thoughts from the back row of the memorial

I learned a new word last week: “anonymized.” It means just what it says, “made anonymous,” and was used in reference to government reports obtained by the Washington Post that contained truthful revelations about our 18-year war in Afghanistan that the government was lying to the American people about while spending a trillion dollars to achieve something that nobody in the Pentagon could quite define.

My uncles, may they rest in peace, would not have been surprised by the Post’s story. Their regard for generals was low, based on their own military service, and their opinion of politicians lower: they associated high office with adultery, alcohol, and bribery, end of discussion.

My generation, on the other hand, got inspired by movements — civil rights, women’s equality, antiwar, environmental — and various attractive speakers back in the days before the twittering began, and so we became idealists. Back in the day, more than once, I myself stood in vast crowds of people singing, “All we are saying is, Give peace a chance.” The words don’t make sense, but we sang with great feeling.

The revelations about the trillion-dollar war briefly gained the front page and then faded. Our government had knowingly sent men to die in a losing cause and refused to admit it. A few thousand voters in Florida in 2000, aided by the Supreme Court, had changed the course of history. President Gore might’ve paid attention to the melting of Greenland and spent the trillion on solar power, but that is mere history, so the adventures of Mr. T resumed domination of the airwaves. The man, clad in leopard-skin tights, now climbs the high tower of impeachment where, to the astonishment of the crowd, he will dive into the water tank of the Senate and emerge triumphant.

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Prairie Home Christmas Show

The cast has thoroughly enjoyed being on stage together for the first time in 3 years performing the Prairie Home Christmas show in front of audiences in Minneapolis and San Francisco! The show plays like an extended version of the old radio show, with appearances by Guy Noir, Dusty and Lefty, Duane and his mother, words from several sponsors, duets, sing-a-longs, Christmas carol parodies, plus the latest News from Lake Wobegon. Tonight, the show will be at Town Hall in New York City, and on Saturday, the cast hits Center Stage in Atlanta for two performances (tickets still available--see below).

The one question I have gotten from show audience members and online fans alike is, "will you be recording the show?" Along those lines, we do have a little something in the works--as long as our technology cooperates tonight! So, without saying more on the subject, we ask that you please check your email on Friday for more information about this gift to you, Prairie Home fans!
 

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Holiday Highlights

Rejoice! For the rest of the month, the Garrison Keillor Facebook page will be filled with holiday highlights from years past plus a few new gems including a newer News from Lake Wobegon story––the first since the final show at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016. Today, we are featuring Garrison's take on "The Gift of the Magi." We hope everyone has a great holiday season!

In the tiny apartment on the Lower East Side,
The beautiful Della combed her long hair,
And thought about Christmas and bitterly cried,
For they had no money, no money to spare.

So little money, and Christmas was near,
And Jim worked so hard and for so little pay.
He’d grown discouraged, her darling, her dear
She must give him Christmas, she must find a way.

So she went to a wig shop and sold them her hair,
Her beautiful hair that her husband adored,
Her face was all pale as she sat in the chair,
And she cried as the barber cut it off short.

And out in the street, with a scarf on her head,
And the money in hand, Della searched through the shops,
And there in a window was the gift she must get:
A platinum chain Jim could hang on his watch.

His beautiful watch that his father had owned,
So handsome and beautiful, just like her Jim.
And she bought him the chain and gladly went home
And curled her short hair as she waited for him.

He opened the door and he saw her hair
And she ran to his side and tried to explain
It would grow back so quickly and she didn’t care
And she gave him the beautiful platinum chain.

Jim took her gift — how brightly it shone.
He covered his face and sighed in despair,
And he told her, “I bought you those tortoise shell combs,
Tortoiseshell combs for your beautiful hair.”

He had pawned his watch to buy her the combs,
To buy him the watch chain, she sold her hair
And the two of them looked at each other and groaned,
At the sight of the two useless gifts sitting there.

They sat holding hands and they started to laugh
At the beautiful emptiness of what they were wishing
The gift of the Magi is to hold what you have
And not think a minute of what you are missing.

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Even though our holiday shipping deadlines have expired, we are still open and taking orders and will process them as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patronage this holiday season!