'Tis the season for holiday spirit and activities

'Tis the season ... the Toys for Tots barrels are out, the Thanksgiving dinner is almost digested, homes are being decorated for Christmas, and it's time to think of the real meaning of Christmas. Save yourself some money and don't break the bank for "stuff" you'll ignore by 3 p.m. Christmas day.

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How about taking a frozen turkey and some non-perishable food to FISH, or, if you can, open an Irwin Charity CD with the Irwin Union Bank by Jan. 31 and they will donate $50 to your favorite charity. Or, if you are over 70 years old, you can make a large tax-exempt charitable contribution by Dec. 31 (hopefully to FISH), called a QCD (qualified charitable distribution), by contacting your tax adviser. FISH, or any other charity, will love you.

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The 4th annual Festival of Trees silent auction is going on at the Nevada State Library and Archives until 5 p.m., Dec. 7. You can see the trees there, or can bid on a fully decorated tree by calling 684-3313 for details. An easy way to make your home festive without doing any of the work. The Brewery Arts Center's Artisan's Store is showing one-of-a-kind items made by local artisans at their Open House Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and 2 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. A good place for something "different." So, drop in and browse awhile.

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And now, an "artist's" story from Joe Spencer: "A thief in Paris stole some paintings from the Louvre; however, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas. When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied, 'Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings. I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh.' (and you thought Joe didn't have De Gaulle to send this to us? He said he had nothing Toulouse.)"

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The Carson Calendar Girls will be at Jorgee's Exotic Imports, at 151 Clearview Dr., Suite 15 (that's the little strip mall just south of the OLD Wal-Mart), on Wednesday, Nov. 28, from 6-8 p.m., to sell and sign their calendars. Chris Bayer will be playing and 10 percent of anything Jorgee sells that day will go to the Danielle Conway Foundation. She has some lovely things, so stop by, buy things, and meet the "girls." Fun Christmas gifts for a great cause.

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Carols with Bella Voce will be sung at the BAC on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (883-1976), and Barbershop and Then Some will be at the Community Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. (720-8316). Then sing "Happy Birthday" to Jason Fuller at Fuller Collision after you've heard all those great songs. There will be a technical theater workshop put on by Wild Horse Productions and the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Community Center on Dec. 4 from 6 - 9 p.m., $30 each for anyone over 12 who wants to learn about back stage work from Preston Dunn (he's done about 900 performances in the last 10 years). Great opportunity for anyone who wants to see how it's "Dunn" (we couldn't resist that). And Carolyn wants to thank Dr. William Anspach, Lisa Olny and Geri Barnett, for the great care they gave her when her tooth hurt.

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Jan Whaley wants to know "if a child should witness child birth?" "Due to a power outage, only one paramedic responded to a call at a very dark house where a woman was giving birth. Because he was alone, he asked the lady's 3-year-old daughter to hold the flashlight while he assisted the woman. She gave birth to a bouncing baby boy and the paramedic lifted him up and spanked him on his bottom. The baby began to cry, and the lady thanked him for his help. He turned to the little girl and asked her what she thought of all this. She quickly responded, 'Smack his butt again ... he shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place.'"

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A reader is worried about a speech by George W. Bush, and a directive found in NSPD-51/HSPD-20 of the "Homeland Security Directive," wherein President Bush said he would not leave office while Iran (or Iraq) is still "up in the air." The presidential directive states that in the event of a catastrophic emergency "anywhere on the globe" that results in casualties, damage or disruption to the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy or government function, he would remain in office and be in charge of every branch of government. That would suspend our Constitution, as we know it, but "would be done to protect a working constitutional government." Does that bother you? Then perhaps you should remember a statement (where he said he was kidding), "This job would be a heck of a lot easier if it were a dictatorship ... as long as I'm the dictator." ("Many a thing is said in jest...") This reader thinks we are in a very scary position, and, that while something like this is "unthinkable," sometimes the unthinkable comes true. Very discomfiting.

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We were wondering who takes care of the old National Guard Armory? It's looking pretty seedy with all the weeds and trash blowing around. Anyone?

And compliments to NDOT and the freeway crews for making travel flow smoothly on E. 5th Street during the freeway prep. Thanks.

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And now, to uplift you, Deborah Greco sent us the following: "I took my Dad to the mall the other day, and, as we were sitting in the food court, a young man sat down at the next table. He had spiked hair colored red, green, orange and blue. As my Dad looked at him, the boy sarcastically asked, 'What's the matter old man ... never done anything wild in your life?' Knowing my Dad, I quickly swallowed my food so I would not choke on his response. In classic style, he did not bat an eye when he replied, 'Got drunk once and did it with a peacock. I was just wondering if you were my son.'"

• To reach Maizie Harris Jesse or Carolyn Tate, e-mail carolynandmaizie@yahoo.com.