A Point Beach "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

, wrote the following as his own Point Beach ode to "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and read it at the Tuesday council meeting at

Thanks to Mr. Castin for letting Patch publish it! For those not steeped in Point Beach news, Patch has included hyperlinks to help provide background information.

Twas the night before Christmas here at Point Beach

Not a sound was heard except seagulls screech

It was time for Saint Nick to visit the shore

And bestow his gift giving as so goes the lore

He’ll come in by sled, doesn’t travel first class

But there’s no place to land. He has no

So he circled the town and came down on the lake

The one he remembered;

Good thing it was frozen, his sled it did hold

And yelled stop to Rudolph, who did as was told

It so happened he stopped by my bulkhead out back

And I saw him unload.  He had a large sack

I went out and I shouted, "Is this some kind of goof?

Get up by the chimney. You’re supposed to be on the roof

He said, "Look here old buddy, that’s no longer my route

The north pole had a cut back. They only gave me one suit."

So he walked up the deck, said he remembered me here

I could sure use some scotch and a nice mug of beer

So inside we went. He sure was a great talker

Knocked off a six pack and killed Johnnie Walker

He got up from the couch, brought in gifts from his sled

Had lots more to deliver before he gets home to bed

He opened his bag and laid out his list

To be certain that no one would ever be missed

I said, "Hey Santa, don’t leave us any more presents

Because I know that your time is of the essence

Just give me a minute to talk of the people who serve

That’s our town council;  It may require some nerve

The job takes lots of time. And they are often abused

Some will get angry and some will be amused

But I hope this year they’ll all work together

To make our little town so very much better."

I’d now like to comment on all of those here

And leave no one out because there‘s nothing I fear

So I’ll start from the left and then move to the end

Don’t want to miss anyone that I choose to offend

Kris does a good job. Sometimes looses her list

And now can’t call from Florida. Got a slap on the wrist

Loves animal welfare, just one of her hats

So on her porch Christmas morning will be a bag full of cats

And the guy next to her.

Family life calls. The mayor’s not grieving

Had a nice way about him, and he did seem quite skilled

But he felt really lonely, so kept the seat next to him filled

Then there’s , his council tenure at rest

And all of us here do wish him the best

A man of few words, not much of a debater

Says I’ll vote for it now, explain it to me later

Mike Corbally I see. Hard not to like

He’ll sell you a house or rent you a bike

His park plan can’t fail. No way. Just how could it

But the problem was that no one else understood it

Next is Tim Lurie a fine engineer by trade

Too much work for both jobs. Could cause stress. Make you cuss

So are his running mates home or still under the bus?

As I look at the end,  I don’t see

And new guy we hope he does well

And lets us all know who throws coins in his well

Now there’s

Keeps our comments to five minutes which I think is wrong

Then gives us a lecture that takes twice as long

Now it just came to me,

There will now be two mayors.  Oh what do we do?

Thought one was enough. I think it’s a curse

What did we do wrong? Please call me a nurse

And Bret Gordon ran Lakehurst, a mighty big task

But there’s only one question I’d like to ask

Was he ever at sea and on a ship did he sail

And during rough seas lose his cookies over the rail

There’s our clerk name of Ellsworth, Maryann her first name

Works under the radar, but we all know her fame

Her consent shows a number that doesn’t look  real

Changes hundreds to thousands, so what’s the big deal

And just to her left is our attorney Tom Gannon

Speaks soft with his counsel is not a loose cannon

He’s almost too quiet, could be a secret rock singer

And show up with long hair and guitar for host Jerry Springer  

And next to him is CFO Christine Riehl

She’s always prepared, seems almost surreal

And if she got a pie in the face, preferably custard

She’d sit there and report it and not even get flustered

Then there’s our Chief O’Hara. He does a great job is always cool and concise

Waiting to be called on to give his advice

And saying to himself I wish I was home

Instead of listening to Castin recite his crummy old poem

So now you know, Santa, how each plays a role

In the spirit of giving which comes from the soul

We don’t need a box tagged for cousin or brother

Because we give from out hearts the love for each other.

We look around in this room and think what could be better

And thank God we’re all able to be here together

And this old Kris Kringle can’t help shed a tear

For all those he loves to be Christmastime near

Santa turned and said, "I’ll be leaving. I’ve stayed long enough

You have all my givings. You have all my stuff

Got more stops to make before dawn comes our way

To bring Christmas wishes to those near and away

Got to visit the troops who overseas did deploy

I’ll bring Christmas from home..share with them some joy

And I’m sure the message they’ll send back with me

Is to remember that freedom is not always free."

I sat back on the couch and started to think

But just long enough so the ice didn’t melt in my drink

Old Santa was right. It all fit like a glove

It's all about family and the ones that you love

Then he went out the door got into his sled

And away into the night with reindeer he sped

Made three turns around till the moon was just right

And shouted, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."