THE LIST: All aboard for Christmas

It was movie night again this week at our house as I had a meeting I was supposed to cover get canceled due to illness. Movie night is becoming regular again for the first time since the heart of the pandemic when we had nothing else to do, and I’m OK with this fact.

This week it was “Polar Express” that came on television, and we decided to watch. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a boy who has a dream that he gets picked up by a historic steam locomotive train that takes him to the North Pole. They have quite the journey there, and when they get there, he gets to see how it all works, meets the elves and stands within earshot of Santa Claus. Quite the journey for a young boy!

I found myself enthralled by the movie, honestly. I’ve probably seen it, but it has been a long time since I have seen it. My ability to be captured by it was almost laughable to Kilee. Here I am in my mid-30s being captivated by what is really a children’s movie.

I did what I sometimes do and looked up some interesting facts about the movie’s production as I watched. It has a unique look about it because it utilizes computer-animated technology. They filmed real actors and then animated it from that. Tom Hanks, one of my favorite actors, voiced several of the characters in the film, from the adult voice of the Hero Boy and his father to the train conductor, hobo, Santa Claus and Ebenezer Scrooge puppet. Actors who perform multiple roles in one film amaze me.

I think it’s probably quite natural for us to be enthralled by the unknown as children, especially this time of year. As we get older, we lose that a bit. Maybe we shouldn’t.

Similar to but not exactly like this young boy in the movie, we find the account from the Bible you can find on the back page of this edition (thanks to whomever sponsored that) that is the true meaning of Christmas. All aspects of Christmas are great, but it’s my belief that the true meaning of Christmas is in these words — the fact that 2,000 years ago, a baby boy was born in manger in Bethlehem who is Savior of the world — and are summed up in Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, who brings peace on earth, second chances and lasting hope for a broken world.

So, this season becomes all about wonder either way, but I hope we all come to know the real meaning of Christmas, and the hope found in it.

At the end of the “Polar Express,” the conductor makes a statement that stuck with me, and he tells it to the main character in the movie (I find it fascinating that the main character is never named in the movie. I took it to mean that he represents all of us). The conductor says, “One thing about trains: It doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.”

I hope that as you consider the exciting, childlike wonder of whatever traditions you hold to, that you apply that same wonder to the true meaning of Christmas. It does actually matter where the train’s going, and the invitation is very real this time of year to climb aboard.

From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!

Big decisions

There are many big decisions that our elected officials tend to every week in their meetings. If not every week, every month.

This month, the Greenfield City Council was faced with the startling fact that the community’s historic pool’s time with us has become short. What to do? Refurbish, rebuild or get rid of it?

The council is already throwing numbers around. Any of these cities or counties are businesses just like the stores on our main streets. They should be looking at the bottom line. In part, isn’t that what we elected them to do?

That being said, all these amenities we have as communities add up to a nice place for a family to settle. I don’t have all the answers. It sounds like there are pros and cons to a pool and pros and cons to a splash pad, which they looked at.

This is coming from a guy who can’t swim, so take it with a grain of salt, but I hope for the situation with our pool that we can find something that we can have well into the future, whatever it is. Someone brought up the need for swim lessons. That’s a good consideration and pro for keeping a pool around. Either way, let’s make sure we have ample places for our community’s kids to hang out well into the future.

Another consideration that remains on the table is housing. Another big discussion is facilities for Nodaway Valley. I would hope that these groups would not lean only on their own resources but involve the community and related groups in decisions. It sounds like they plan to, but doing so is crucial to prospective projects being successful.