Examples of David's writing
It's Christmas day. The sounds of Christmas carols carry with them the smells of Moussaka and Baklava throughout the house. Moussaka? Baklava? That sounds Greek to me. Oh wait, they are Greek and that's because this is not your everyday Christmas.
For nearly twenty years Christmas at our home has been anything but everyday. From Europe to Asia, North America to South America we have explored Christmas traditions and meals as an alternative to the traditional Christmas dinner.
What has come to be a tradition at our home began as a way to avoid the repetition of Thanksgiving dinner that Christmas dinner has become. The question how families in other countries celebrate Christmas, resulted in a tradition that continues to this day.
As fans of Mexican cuisine, the choice for our first international Christmas was easy. Mexican legend tells of a boy named Pablo who had nothing to give the Christ Child at the village nativity. He gathered some branches he found growing by the side of the road. The other children made fun of his gift, but when he placed the branches by the manger, brilliant star-shaped red flowers appeared on each branch. From this legend, the association of the poinsettia with Christmas came about.
China is not a country normally thought of in connection with Christmas. Christians there decorate their homes with paper lanterns, which also adorn their "Trees of Light," along with paper chains and paper flowers.
We have many reasons for selecting our Christmas countries. The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and England came because of my ancestry. When our son studied Russian in school, that became our Christmas country. Germany was the suggestion of some German friends. Brazil was chosen in honor of our son's friend who was serving there on a mission there. Italy, France, and Greece came because we like their food.
Besides enjoying new dishes we have been learning about how people celebrate Christmas around the world. In the tradition of Santa Claus, many countries have similar individuals. In France, Pere Noel travels with his companion, Pre Fouettard. Sinterklaas sails from Spain to bring gifts to Dutch children on his feast day, December 5th. In Russia, Babouschka brings gifts to the children. Italy's La Befana is similar to Babouschka in that both characters didn't give food and shelter to the three wise men on their journey to find the Christ Child. They now search for the Christ Child, visiting the homes of children during the Christmas season. Papai Noel brings gifts in Brazil. He lives in Greenland and when he arrives in Brazil, he usually wears silk clothing due to the summer heat.
People in Czechoslovakia and Poland cut a branch from a cherry tree and put it in water indoors to bloom. If the bloom opens in time for Christmas it is considered good luck. Traditions of the Yule log come from Scandinavia. The Nativity come to us from Italy.
From the Italian Christmas Bread, Pannettone, to Arroz Con Pollo Mexican Chicken with Rice, from Greek Baklava, to French Orange Crème Crepes, from Czech bramborová polévka, a potato leek soup, to Dutch Poffertjes, miniature pancakes coated with powdered sugar, we have enjoyed many new and interesting foods. By the way, don't eat the Russian Kasha.
If Christmas dinner is the same old, same old, try visiting another country for a new Christmas celebration. You can do it from the comfort of your own home. And now the sun is setting on another Christmas day. It looks like it is time to open the presents.
There wasn't much time as the clock continued ticking down. For Sgt. Reggie Trask, a seven-year veteran of the LAPD bomb squad, it all came down to a simple choice.
Do I choose the blue one or the red one, he thought.
00:02:41
“Plenty of time,” he assured himself. However, this was a situation unlike any Reggie had ever encountered before. Concentrating once more on the deadly task before him, Reggie focused his hazel eyes, examining everything minutely, looking for some telltale clue as to which color he should pick.
00:01:55
Nothing. No clue whatsoever. I wonder why this is taking so much time. How come in real life, these timers count down so quickly? It's nothing like the Hollywood movies where 30 seconds take two or three minutes to go by. Reggie stole a quick glance at the clock.
00:01:42
Red or blue, blue or red?
Choose the wrong one and you'll end up dead.
“Oh swell. Now I'm making up poems about this.”
00:01:30
“Ok, the choice is simple. Choose the right one and you walk out of here with a big Cheshire cat smile on your face. Choose the wrong one and you end up dead.”
But wait a minute, there's actually another choice. That is to do nothing. So, I can choose wrong and die or do nothing and die. So, I really have, what, a 67% chance of dying, not 50%?
“What am I doing?” he shouted. “Now I'm analyzing what my odds of dying are going to be? This is crazy!”
00:00:43
Reggie wiped the drops of sweat from his brow with his shirtsleeve leaving a trail of dark brown hair plastered to his forehead.
Tick…tick…tick, the steady beat of the clock seemed to grow louder with each passing second, seconds that would soon lead to Reggie's escape to freedom, or his quick death.
I'm wasting too much time, he thought.
Red or blue, blue or red?
Better choose soon or you'll end up dead.
00:00:33
“Aarrrrrgh!” he screamed, pounding at his head with his fists. “Get out of my head!” Reggie thoughts were distracting him. The ticking of the clock was distracting him. He could not decide and time was quickly ticking away.
00:00:31
Red or blue, blue or red?
You've got to choose now or you'll end up dead.
Red or blue, blue or red?
You're gonna be dead.
Blue or red?
You're gonna be dead.
Red - Dead.
Red - Dead.
Red - Dead!
“All right, all right, all right!” Reggie shouted as he chose the blue one.
CLICK!
00:00:03
Tick.
00:00:02
Tick!
“Oh no,” he whimpered like a frightened child.
00:00:01
TICK!
“I'm dead.”
00:00:00
When nothing happened, a smile began to form on Reggie's face.
BAM!
The blue door exploded into Reggie, hurling him across the barren room. He landed dazed but relatively unharmed. Blinking towards the open blue door, Reggie saw the form of a bloodthirsty Bengal tiger coming towards him. It reminded him of Lee Majors doing one of his slow-motion runs in “The Six Million Dollar Man.”
Oh this is just great, he thought. Now you decide to slow time down.
With a single swipe of its mighty paw, the beast ripped open Reggie's throat as easily as a child tears open presents on Christmas morning. Seeing the dark red blood spurting from his neck he thought, Red is dead, red is dead.
His final thought was Oh shut up!
Behind the silent red door sat a stunning redheaded woman in her sexy red dress. Spreading her fingers, she pressed the sculpted red-nailed fingertips against each other. As she touched the tips of her fingers to her sumptuous red lips, a Cheshire cat smile formed on her face.