Merry Christmas from the crew of Esconditas

[Esconditas]

MERRY CHRISTMAS



T'was the night before Christmas, I swung on the hook

With snowflakes a'landing, asleep with my book

When up on the deck I heard footsteps and stuff

"I've been boarded!" I thought, and I tried to be tough



Then down the companionway hatch came a dude

He was dressed like a nut and I thought, "I'm so screwed"

But he laughed and he hummed as he surveyed my junk

So I figured he must be the resident drunk



His eyes were lit up like a junkie on speed

But he gave me a whole bunch of stuff that I need

Like rum and cigars and new charts and a dinghy

And some kind of fancy electrical thingy



I knew it was stolen but I wasn't telling

I just hoped he was giving and wasn't just selling

And I poured him a grog which he downed with a wink

Then I poured one for me (Lord I needed a drink!)



Then he staggered above to the dark snowy night

As I peeked I beheld an incredible sight

Eight tiny dolphins and a beautiful sleigh

And the dude hopped aboard and prepared to make way



The dolphins were ready to power the sled

But the guy raised a genny and mains'l instead

With a burp and a chuckle he gathered the breeze

And called to the dolphins, now swimming with ease



"Hey Stalker and FEMA and Cancer and Nixon!

Or Stinky and Pepper Spray, Mason, and Dixon!

Or whatever your names are, you cute little fishes,

Here's to every last sailor, my best Christmas wishes!"



As he sailed away leaving a wobbly wake

I hoped he had not many stops left to make

He got close to shore and he soon was aground

But the dolphins proceeded to pull him around



And I heard him exclaim as he sailed out of sight

Happy Christmas to all... and to all a goodnight"

[liberty16]

Hahaha, hilarious.

[SkiprJohn]

Welcome aboard!!
This was under meets and greets so hope you get lots of response. Its a good poem.
Kind Regards, JohnL

[kath&john]

very cool, thanks for the laugh.
kath&john

[seafox]

good poem

[MarkJ]

Fantastic!!!! Thank you for sharing!

[Ex-Calif]

Brilliant! To be immediately posted on the club bulletin board.

[delmarrey]

posted last year for those who didn't get to see it.

T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the yacht,
Not a through hull did pop, No need for a mop!
The stockings were hung from the handholds with tethers,
In case we got knocked while going to weather.

The crew were all nestled, snug in their beds,
While visions of new gear danced in their heads.
Mamma in her SOSpenders and me tethered in,
Had just settled down for the mid watch to begin.

When out on a swell there arose such a spray,
That I sprang from my bunk to see what washed away.
Away to the portlight I flew in a flash,
Undogged the clamps and looked for a splash.

The moon on the crests of velvety swells,
Gave the luster of mid day to the floatsom and gulls,
When what to my wondering Steiners should appear,
But an S&S hull with eight tiny reindeer.

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, INTREPID! on COURAGEOUS! on, WEATHERLY and CONSTELLATION!
To the top of the coachroof! to the top of the mast!
Now dash away! dash away! dash dash dash dash!"

As dry heaves that before a wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with the rigging, mount to the sky,
So up to the coachroof the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the coachroof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew the EPIRB in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the dorade St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in Gill foulies, from his head to his toes,
And his clothes dusted with fiberglass from where I don't know;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a Yacht Broker, or something like that.

His eyes -- how they twinkled in his Costa del Mar's!
His cheeks were like roses, (from a night at the bar).
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a flap,
And the beard of his chin was as white as wave caps;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the cap on his head looked like it was reefed;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like naval jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old salt,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of my malt;
A wink of his eye, he ran to the head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
After, he spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings with GPS's and beef jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose, he looked quite lit,
I ran to open the hatch before the crew saw it;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team blew a bos'n's whistle,
And away they all flew like a full canvassed Thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he cruised out of sight,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT."

.................................................. ......_/)

[kath&john]

Another class act.
Thanks for letting us new folk read it.

[delmarrey]

And for those traveling this Christmas............... Watch for a low flying sledge!

[mickmul]

Great laughs! Thanks - That plane is Ryanair, can't wait to see what they come up with this year . . have a cool yule everybody!!

[henryk]

Love it !

Merry Christmas for the whole crew

[GordMay]

With apologies to the mentally disturbed amongst us, a few Christmas carols:

1. Schizophrenia - Do I Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder - We Three Kings Disoriented Are

3. Dementia - I Think I'll Be Home For Christmas

4. Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

5. Manic - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and....

6. Paranoid - Santa Claus is Coming To Town To Get Me

7. Borderline Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

8. Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, and I Don't Know Why

9. Attention Deficit Disorder - Silent Night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy , can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?

10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells.....

[Seeratlas]

A Different Christmas Poem





The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,



I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.



My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,



My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.







Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,



Transforming the yard to a winter delight.



The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,



Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.







My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,



Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.



In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,



So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.







The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,



But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.



Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the



sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.







My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,



And I crept to the door just to see who was near.



Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,



A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.







A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,



Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.



Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,



Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.







"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,



"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!



Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,



You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"







For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,



Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts



To the window that flickered and swayed and danced bright



With the beautiful colors of a warm fire's light



Then he sighed and he said "It's really all right,



I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."



"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,



That separates you from the darkest of times.







No one had to ask or beg or implore me,



I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.



My Gramps died at 'Pearl' on a day in December,"



Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."







"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',



And now it is my turn and so, here I am.



I've not seen my own son in more than a while,



But my wife sends me pictures - he's sure got her smile."







Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,



The red, white, and blue... an American flag.



"I can live through the cold and the being alone,



Away from my family, my house and my home.







I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,



I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.



I can carry the weight of killing another,



Or lay down my life with my sister and brother







Who stand at the front against any and all



To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."



"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright.



Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."







"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,



"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?





It seems all too little for all that you've done,



For being away from your wife and your son."







Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,



"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.



To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,



To stand your own watch, no matter how long.







For when we come home, either standing or dead,



To know you remember we fought and we bled.



Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,



That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."












LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN



30t h Naval Construction Regiment



OIC, Logistics Cell One



Al Taqqadum , Iraq


merrry xmas everyone.

[mickmul]

Merry Christmas Jeff. May your sails billow in the wind again soon!