Today was one of those days that makes you truly appreciate the magic of Christmas and all the joys and surprises that, unlike any other time of the year, this season brings. First, it was returning calls to various Goodboy friends that had called during the week wanting to nail down plans to get together while I’m back home in Massachusetts between Christmas and New Years. Then, out of the blue, I got a call from my former Top Priority bandmate, Jerry “Keys” Palma, who just wanted to send along some Christmas greetings and discuss some Christmas CDs he’s been listening to: in particular, Brian Wilson’s “What I Really Want For Christmas”, and the Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album (one of my personal faves, BTW!).

Jerry’s call really got me into the Christmas spirit to reach out to a couple of other friends, and soon I was talking to Jay “Crusher” Spielberg, a Goodboy friend whom I hadn’t talked to for a couple of years. We spoke for quite a while, and I’m hoping he’ll be able to join the Goodboys when we gather together for a little holiday cheer next week.

Then it was on to church and a lovely Mass at St. Anne Catholic Church. The priest gave a straight to the point, no-nonsense homily about St. Joseph and his often overlooked, but critical role in whole Christmas story. He probably talked for no more than 7 minutes or so, but there was more message and biblical teaching in that homily than I’ve heard in many 15-minute, weak-kneed blatherings of various Episcopal priests over the years. The church was laid out in all its Christmas splendor, and only the most hard-hearted person could have left church not feeling the warm glow of the season and the true meaning behind it. It certainly gave me a lift, I’ll tell you that.

So here’s to the magic of Christmas – the joy of family and friends, the feeling of being loved and wanting to give that love in return, and, underscoring it all, the incredible story of God’s overwhelming love for humankind that the Word would be made Flesh and dwell among us, if only to save us from ourselves. ‘Tis a wonderful season!