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Original Sliced Cheese Market 2020 Global Key Vendors Analysis, Revenue, Trends & Forecast to 2026

Original Sliced Cheese Market 2020 Global Key Vendors Analysis, Revenue, Trends & Forecast to 2026
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Yes perhaps. When I saw my mother's new Christmas tree I had to admit I didn't know what to say nice My mother said beaming and nodding toward her new holiday finery it's great I bet you've never seen another tree like it it's a beautiful tree it's something I finally offered wincing a little to protect my eyes from the shining glare that sure is bright it's not bright my mother clarified it's festive there's a difference I didn't say anything there is a difference she tossed out before she walked away if that's the case then my mother's Nutri had more festivity than the searchlight from the police helicopter that have arisen over my neighborhood on any given Friday or Saturday night and can turn a night into day faster than God or science. Gone was our old blinking colored lights tree the fake tree the took hours to assemble and boasted branches with needles so realistic they drew as much blood as hypodermic ones. Were the yarn macaroni and pipe cleaner ornaments my sister and I had made as kids coldly replaced by new decorations made by crafts people complete strangers from colored clay and yarn which served as evidence of my mother's recent trip to the Holy Trinity craft bazaar at her church. I knew Jesus was good with the whole water and wine thing but you should see what the Savior can do with some Fimo clay and a garlic press. And that was not off the new fancy tree itself was not so much a tree as it was a miracle a fiber optics from the tip of each needle on each branch glowed turning from red to pink to purple to blue to green to yellow and then back to read again the whole spectrum of the rainbow in a hearty luminescence you bought a Gay Pride tree. I asked my mother I'm so impressed with your social progress mom next thing you know I have you believing in evolution. Call it what you want my mother said pretending to be nonplussed but I was just lucky to get it in the last minute before the Q v c clock ran out all those filthy vultures would 10 this tree sold out with 4 seconds to spare I never seen anything like it just lucky that I knew a good trick when I saw it and I acted quickly. I guess the good news is the chair nobles found a new industry selling glowing foliage it's been exposed to mass doses of radiation I said does it come with a lead suit of armor or do you have to purchase that separately on Q v c My mother sneered she replied I don't care if you like the chair. I love the tree I love this tree. I just know my lesson that if I want to touch the tree it's best to unplug it let it cool down 1st. So I think my hand is blistered but it's still stinging. Where is the gingerbread house I made in 1st grade I asked sternly as I squinted my eyes and searched through the branches and where are all the candy canes Lisa made from pipe cleaners when she was it kindergarten now think you're old enough to be a grandmother I thought it was time we moved on and had a nice tree without all that crap on it. My mother said simply I blanched at her Frost Yes Ok yes it's true women my age are grandmothers but only in countries where people are swallowed whole on a regular basis by both constructors and a home invasion means there's a tiger on your kitchen table in that same country you would be considered a witch for living longer than an elephant and what you mean by crap should you want houses and candy canes made by the hands of your little children are now crap . My mother replied the crumbling disgusting bug infested gingerbread house and torn paper chains and cleaner candy canes that you made and you hang it on your tree. I sniffed you signed up for the motherhood cruise my friend not me how do you go on to my childhood memories and all the stuff I don't want to my own house is part of that deal you know. Now what my house to be covered in caveman paintings that a tree that was it was decorated by little monkeys I don't have kids for a variety of reasons including not wanting to hear my name on c.n.n. Headline news but certainly having a nice tree is a top contender nice trees are a luxury reserved for childless people. We don't get the tax deduction and we spend our twilight years alone getting our diapers changed by high school dropouts and Kenny in a nursing home but while we're still able bodied and selfish we get prettier decorations and furniture with not as many stains I'm a clear lights person now and the colored lights and the construction paper ornaments are your responsibility that's the balance you're on my turf mom. I have wanted clear lights for a long time my mother has I've always been a clear lights person inside it with you kids that want it the mishmash of every cover I don't even have clear lights on this tree because of you and balance you really want to talk about balance because if you do let's not forget the year brewing Christmas let's talk about that when the scale of motherhood was tipped so heavily it got knocked off the balance be that a little hungry gymnast hit by a sandbag. That night myself. My mother loves to tell this story because I think in her mind it really nails the point home to her audience that she has nothing less than Squeaky Fromme for a daughter and I should have been incarcerated as a child. Every Christmas Eve I was still living at my parents' house my friends and I would get together at a restaurant for a late night dinner the year I ruined Christmas was no different my friend picked me up we went to another friend's apartment to have some drinks because I wasn't driving see are responsible that is I may have had more than my fair share before I knew it we were in the parking lot of the apartment complex and everyone was splitting up and jumping in cars to form something of a caravan to go to the restaurant I put my purse on top of the car rifled through it to find a lighter for dog and then we were off. We had a great time at dinner a laugh drank some more had a wonderful Christmas Eve until the restaurant closed at midnight we went to pay the bill I reached my wallet but it was difficult to find Being that my entire purse was gone although Dogg who had consumed enough alcohol to both kill and in bomb him accused me of being cheap and conveniently losing my wallet I knew well enough what had happened I left it on the roof of the car after looking for a lighter for him. I wasn't really upset about losing my purse I was a little loaded and I had only had 10 bucks to my name there anyway as soon as we paid the bill we drove back to the apartment complex to try to find my purse but it was no use it was gone but I was worried about however was along with the person I'd lost my keys and that meant that when I got home I was going to have to wake my parents to let me in this was bad particularly since it was very reminiscent of an occasion a couple of years before when I was a senior in high school went to a party saw the guy I liked with another girl instead of getting revenge the way a normal girl would by forcing myself on his brother or best friend I drank a half gallon of amateur screwdrivers or whatever you call orange juice and gin the whole time or were pitiful didn't get a glass one made it a girl could never even kissed a boy I remember saying to a friend. Is missing I am good I don't lie. And say I was wrong. For God you have glory. And the next thing I knew I was being swept out like Scarlet O'Hara in the arms of my gay Rhett Butler Doug who carried me to his car which I threw up then took me to his house put me into a bad which I threw up in and waited for me to sober up for my curfew being it was only 8 pm and the sky was still showing streaks of sunlight. Needless to say by midnight I was still more hammer than a nail which was unfortunate because I needed to go home dogs who somehow summoned up more courage than Joan or Melissa Rivers as a plastic surgeon threw me back into the car and drove me to my house he then carried me to the side door and stood there hopeless as I unfortunately regained consciousness and then as any crazy drunk high school senior would do decided to employ a bit of whimsy and kick the door repeatedly instead of finding my keys and simply unlocking that was when my mother had appeared like a phantom out of the dark sucked me into the house and accused me of being on l.s.d. Although any with a nose could smell that gin was the culprit thanks to the vomit shampoo that was still in my hair therefore every time I couldn't fit a key into a lock after dark my mother convinced she could sniff out drug use like she was a canine cop and I was the Go Ask Alice girl would insist that I was under the influence of l.s.d. P.c.p. Speed opium parody or the reigning drug of terror she had seen a story about on 2020 that week so on a Christmas Eve night I lost my purse I knew knocking on the door and waking my parents up would have no different results than it did when I was a kicky high school senior except that I was being dropped off by a particularly friendly pretty law student who I just happened to be smitten with who had helped me with the unsuccessful hunt for my purse in the apartment complex parking what I was really hoping my mother would cool her McGruff the Crime Dog bit long enough for me to seal the deal get something more than a please stop driving past my house you're scaring my mom demand when he delivered me home but when he walked me up to the side door there was something I hardly expected a note from my mother. Lori. We know that you don't have your keys so knock when you get home if you're still sober enough to read this do not do your drunk dance on the door. And if you're on angel dust the front window is not a liquid pane of glass as it may appear in your druggy state so don't crash through it you will be grounded. I couldn't figure out how my mother knew that I had lost my keys but as soon as I open the door my best glorious magnificent and totally bitchin dreams came true so much so I didn't care that my almost suitor had bolted to his car and sped away after learning that I was apparently peeking on angel dust and may have been about 6 stroll through the plate glass window thinking it was a beautiful paradise waterfall because inside my house was another sort of paradise just waiting to be revealed when my father opened the door swings from my mother's fingertips was my purse the same purse that slid off a car roof and landed in the parking lot of my friend's apartment complex on that cold Christmas Eve night after it fell off the car it sat there for a while until a uniformed security guard making his rounds spotted the purse on the asphalt saw the imprint of Doug's tryer tracks over its belly picked it up opened it found my wallet and my driver's license with my address it 10 minutes later my house my mother had just sat down in the living room with a pack of Winston's and an ashtray and was watching the opening moments of Cagney and Lacey when the doorbell rang she steadfastly ignored it devoutly hoping someone else had heard it such as my father who was watching the fall guy in the family room or my sister Lisa who was watching Miami Vice in her room or my other sister who was watching Dynasty in her room and would rise to the obligation. The happiness and solace of a family on the eve of the biggest family holiday was about to be shattered even more than if their oldest daughter was tripping the light fantastic on some illicit substance and then completely ruined Christmas by attempting to pass through an architectural feature of the house that was because despite the 3 door bell rings with a significant pauses in between my mother finally ground out her cigarette and answer the door there to her annoyance and displeasure but certainly not to her surprise my mother saw police officer uniformed police officer and in his hand was my driver's license that I'm sure did not surprise her either I'm sure she thought I had been arrested for crashing through various windows around the neighborhood trying desperately to find my real house while lost in the crazed psychedelic fog of an after school special. Shock came when my mother realized I was not handcuffed in the back seat of a cop car parked outside our house glittering like a diamond covered in shattered glass and blowing air farts with my mouth on the window. Rather she saw pulled up a flattened purse with tire tracks imprinted on it and she heard him say. Run over run over. And in a flash in a glorious golden moment I had suddenly died in a truly tragic incident on Christmas Eve which was far more dramatic sad and utterly spectacular than any death fantasy I could ever dreamed up it was an incredibly impressive and breathtaking death I had to admit and I imagine my mother as she crumpled to the ground as if falling through a trap door and sobbed heavily as she took on her new role of grieving heartbroken mother who she realizes now should have been nicer and kinder and she'd be regretful about being thrifty and making same to daughter by her clothes at Kmart during junior high school Laurie deserve better namely Casual Corner. It was the gift that every girl dreams of to be dead long enough for your parents to realize how meaningless their lives were without you. How they were suddenly at once deeply sorrow for all of the horrible injustices they caused you how they had truly never appreciate their natural gifts of beauty and grace that they think they really should have bought you a nicer car being that their beautiful angel would have such a short time on earth and should have spent that time driving the restored $965.00 convertible Mustang she had openly and publicly desired. But knew she spent her last short fleeting moments driving a 980 Chevy citation. Ever so clearly a grandma car with fake red velvet upholstery a hatchback and an interior that smelled like spoiled milk and sometimes meat. Being temporarily run over by a car was the best present I had ever received and I didn't even have to do anything dramatic to get it like write a note or buy some rope. It was indeed a holy night. Then fortunately my reverie was cut all too appallingly short when the cop stepped forward to inform her that it was only my purse that had become acquainted with several car tires not the girl whose purse it was he had merely wanted to return it I was dead I asked my mother eagerly trying hard to fight the urge to jump up and down in glee Oh my God I can't believe this this is fantastic Did you cry. Well. My mother confessed but then again there was the relief of getting a 2nd use out of your prom dress. Having me spend all my eternity in black and hot pink polyester taffeta would have been a grander bench on my mother's part and there was no doubt in my mind that she would have done it too although that skirt complete with hoop was so big that the coffin would have to be shrink wrap to keep it closed no no I'm sure she would have voluntarily sat on a grave side before it was time to lower me to the ground as our friends looked on and sadly shook their heads at a mother who treasured her child so much she sat on the casket to be closer to her daughter even if she was a miserable drug addict who ran around manically in a parking lot till she got bounced by a car all because she was hopped up on dope. It in Cry asked again Are you sure. When I found out you were alive I wanted to kill you myself my mother said as she thrust my purse into my chest Well that's it you've ruined Christmas when a cop shows up at your front door on Christmas Eve That's it your holiday shot. What I said shaking my head I'm confused Did I ruin it by dying or did I ruin it by living. Or maybe I'm just as a rock. Like you know. That's not the point my mother insisted and she just made God had by even thinking that you were just like his only begotten Son a stranger something to help worked out. How to person an accessory look at that purse if you got a thrift shop I did it I said probably was a dollar and by the way it wasn't a cut it was a guy in a windbreaker in a hat who took $10.00 out of my purse was empty so my money well I'm so glad I almost had a heart attack over a person cheap you could buy to Kmart my mother said I guess you'd search something for driving all the way over here and she still growing Christmas and care it was the best Christmas I had ever had even if my purse did bear the brunt of the tragedy by being pummeled by a Honda Civic and then mugged by the hero my mother thought I was totally truly dead for a few seconds and that in itself was a gift so precious it couldn't be taken back it was my favorite Christmas ever and I do it again in a heartbeat if given the chance always a mad eye at a trying to console or go as dine extra or now over a decade later standing in front of her fiberoptic rainbow tree my mother was giving me the same look she had the night I rose from the dead. I love history and I have paid my price as a mother for every Christmas thank you and a life she declared and dead. Done with crap trees I wanted a nice trade so I bought one I have earned it I don't hear another thing about it. You understand I said in one last sneaky underhanded attempt to get my way when you hang our evil ornaments on the tree that's how we know you love us. My mother said without skipping a beat I can for years orthodonture to rein in your he ha teeth wasn't enough. You thought you were being sneaky by lying on your head gear chart when I was writing out those checks but who paid the price after all all that money and all you cut was Buck Owens is mouth. That's right you make fun of my trade I'll make fun of your overbite. That was how my mother responded when the word love was introduced into a situation I was more than happy to bow out now before she saw fit to hurl me into her fancy new nuclear reactor at the Christmas tree and melt the skin on one side of my whole body. On Christmas Eve several weeks later we gathered in front of the fiber optic tree and passed out our presence that is some tree by Sister noted squinting while the needle slow burn from an achingly glaring yellow into a forest fire red as did the sheen of our faces. At least someone appreciate it my mother said as she tore into a giant Q v c box if I had waited 5 more seconds I would have gotten it everyone want to train well it's no wonder it's a sauna and a tanning bed with branches for complete coverage didn't come with the welding goggles you could actually look at it without burning a red notice my sister laughed as she opened a wax candle in the shape of a mini pound cake from my mother. Thing is more damaging than a partially clips. If you're President Nicolas my mother said in a desperate and cheap attempt to divert attention from her emergency flare of the treat the wrapping paper is just your guess you look so excited. I've sweaty my nephew said as he wiped a line of perspiration from his forehead your tree is hot. By presents are getting. By hand. Come over here come up here are going to put some sun block on you my sister said as she ripped open wrapping paper to expose a wax cinnamon bun. I don't want to be an alarmist I mention But if we're going to stay in this room I think we better move the presents away from the tree having paper or cardboard batteries you know that thing is simply inviting both danger and the fire department. By mother or did she stopped opening her gift. May Christmas. Why do I do Christmas enough for a lifetime I wanted was a nice tree I wanted to finally have a nice treat what is wrong with that nothing is wrong I had my sister great you can have a nice tree I have and I have a magnificent tree I have nothing but Lenox ornaments on it that I got an outlet mall and clear lights yeah that's right I said it clear lights always known it was a clear light person I'm tired of living in a brightly colored life my mother gassed. The kids she cried Well what about all the ordinance they need you this year Nicholas made reindeer out of clay and David moved his hand in plaster does that mean anything to you. You know my sister replied I love my kids but Nicholas is in the 1st grade he brought home 8 primitive clay formations that look like duty with legs. David has been sneaking into the living room and watching Will Ferrell movies after we go to bed and his plaster he's clearly flipping the bird. Putting those things on my tree with a bunch of Cheetos ornaments and paper chains is simply not an option might magnificent tree is magnificent for a reason see my mother said she shook her finger at me What did I say Lisa agrees with me. So I bought the kids their own tree my sister finished and it's in the family room and it has all their decorations on it how could I not have our family tree house so they know I love them and their legged reindeer poops and middle finger that's our family on that tree and in those ornaments. Boxes until they disintegrate my mother perfectly stymied sat there with nothing to say after several seconds when it was clear that even though she was out of the 5 foot radius of the trees hazard zone and that her face was still a little too shiny She finally relented. She said It's all of our faces turn from green to blue purple. Next year I'll bring your own back out all right but I'm not putting them on this tree they would just be kindling and Christmas trees should only catch fire if you live in a trailer. Anybody else can plug it starting to make me nauseous. My sister and I just smiled at each other as my mother with a dish towel over her arm to prevent a major skin graft pulled the plug out of the wall and the room turned dark then dropped by 20 degrees. And. Well that sounded like a truce if not an entirely happy ending Kiersten Vang's nest read Oh Holy Night or the year I ruined Christmas by Laurie Notaro and Cynthia Nixon when we return English author Jeanette Winterson brings us the spirit of Christmas You're listening to selected short recorded live in performance at Symphony Space in New York City and it other venues nationwide from p.r.i. Public Radio International. Welcome back to selected shorts and Cynthia Nixon for more information about the stories you're hearing the readers who are reading them or the selected shorts writing contest you can go to selected Short's dot org Or follow us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram and please write and tell us what you think of today's program to be sure you never miss a story subscribe to the selected shorts podcast when you do you'll get episodes of our spinoff podcast selected sure it's too hot for radio all you need to do is search for both shows on i Tunes and hit subscribe. On this Christmas program we're seeking holiday cheer but sometimes the path is unclear and at 1st things aren't looking too good for the married couple in Jeanette Winterson spirit of Christmas they set off for their annual holiday with too much stuff but in the end they wind up with nothing but a miracle Winterson is known for defying conventions and here she tells the most familiar of tales in a way that feels both attorney and new Christina pickles performs the spirit of Christmas were. Were. It was the night before Christmas and all over the house nothing was stirring because even the mouse was exhausted. There were presence everywhere square ones with both long ones with ribbons fat ones and sand paper thin ones tantalizing is a diamond bracelet or disappointing as a chopstick. Food supplies had been stockpiled like a warning putting the size of bombs were exploding off the shelves bullets of dates were stacked in cardboard rounds a line of Crouse like toy warplanes hung outside the back door chestnuts were ready to heat and fire the free range organic turkey nothing that a good vet couldn't revive. Crowds next to hanger loads of 10 for. A good thing the tough night poor kid still eating when 4 apples in an orchard him can you said trying to squeeze around the kitchen table I was staggering under the weight of the Christmas cake it was the kind of thing mediæval Masons used to choose is the cornerstone of the cathedral. Here from me and went to pack it in the car everything had to go in the car because we were going to the country tonight the more you were loaded the more likely it seemed that the turkey would be doing the driving there was no room for you and I was sharing my seat with the wicker reindeer how cool this you said oh God with forgotten the cat happens doesn't celebrate Christmas I said tie this tense around his basket and get him we've got to have our Christmas round now or shall we wait until we're on the road and you've forgotten the why. The wine is underneath the box of crackers that's not the wine that's the turkey he said fresh agitate him in. The stuff and trying to claw is way out like something from oh. Tell me disgusting that Turkey had a happy life. You are a pretty good life but I'm not thinking everything you. Iran and your net I love your neck you push me away. In play but do I imagine that you push me away not in play these days. You smiled a small smile and went to repack the car. Soon after midnight cat tinsel tree with flashing lights reindeer presents food my arm out the window because there was nowhere else to put it you and me 7 after a country cottage we had rented to celebrate Christmas we drove through the seasonal drunks waving streamers and singing about Rudolph and red nose solidarity he said it would be cool to go right through the middle of town so late at night and as you were slowly pulling away from the traffic lights down the Main Street I thought I saw something moving stop I said Can you reverse. The street was completely empty now and you took us backwards the engine whining under the weight of the effort until we were outside by by baby the world's biggest department store finally and reluctantly closed for midnight to Christmas Eve for an entire 24 hours online shopping always available I got out of the car the front window of Bye-Bye Baby had been arranged isn't a tele the scene complete with Mary and Joseph in scheme where. And the number of farm animals keeping warm under tartan dog coats there was no gold frankincense on these 3 kings had what their presents from b.b. Be Jesus was getting an x. Box. Bike and an apartment friendly drum kit. His mother Mary had been given a steam iron. Flitting about in front of the Nativity her nose pressed inside the window was a tiny trial what are you doing in there I said track said the child I went back to the car and tapped on your window this is a child left behind in the shop we've got to get her out you came and I had a look the child waved you looked out for no she probably belongs to the security guard you said she says she's trapped call the police the child smiled and shook her head as you took out your phone there was something about her smile I felt uncertain who are you I said I am the spirit of Christmas. I heard her clearly she spoke clearly I can't get a signal you said try yours I tried mine it was dead we looked up and down the strangely deserted street I was starting to panic I pulled and pushed at the doors to the store locked no cleaners no janitors this was Christmas Eve The voice came again I am the spirit of Christmas Oh come on you said it's a probably said he's done but I wasn't listening to you I was fixed on the face in the window which seemed to change every 2nd is the light was playing on a child in then revealing expression the eyes were not the eyes of a child. She is our responsibility I said quietly not really to you she is not you said Come on I'll call the police as we drive let me out said the child as you turn back towards the car we'll send someone I promise we're going to find a phone the child interrupted you must let me out. When you leave some of your gifts some of your food in the doorway is just there you turn back this is crazy but the child was hypnotising me. Yes I said half dazed I went to the car and flipped up the back and started dragging rap shapes and bags of food towards the doorway of the department store every time I put something down you picked it up again and part of back in the car you've gone now had you said this is a Christmas we're being filmed I know it is reality t.v. . No this isn't reality t.v. This is real I said in my voice sounded far away this isn't what we know it's what we don't know but it's true I'm telling you it's true. All right she says if this is what it takes to get us back on the road here the bags Ok here and here you slam them down in the doorway your face flushed with tiredness and exasperate can I know that face and you stood back hand in face and not even thinking about the child suddenly all the lights went out in the window of the store and the child was standing on the street between us your face change you put your hand on the smooth glass is clear and closed as a dream how we dreaming you said to me how did she do that. I'm coming with you said the child where are you going. And so past 1 o'clock in the morning we set off again my arm inside the car now the child on the back seat next to hackles who had climbed out of his basket and was purring. I looked in the wing mirror as we left and saw our bags of food and gifts being taken away one by one by dark figures. They are the ones who live in the doorway said the child as though reading my thoughts they have nothing. We're going to be arrested you said theft of in-store display dumping on public highways abduction Merry Christmas to you too officer. We've done the right thing I said what exactly have we done you said except lose half of what we need and collect the lost child. It happens every year said the child in different ways in different places if I am not set free by Christmas morning the world grows heavier the world is heavier than you know. We drove along in silence for a while the sky was black Pindle stars I imagine myself high above this road looking back on planet earth blue in the blackness white patched polar capped this was a life and home. When I was a child my father gave me a glass never seen of the earth shook with stars I used to lie in bed and turn it over and over falling asleep with the stars behind my eyes feeling warm and safe the world is weightless hanging in space unsupported a gravitational mystery sun warmed gas cool. Give. I used to fight off sleep for as long as I could squinting out of one of clothes dryer my silent turning world I grew up my father died the snow scene was in the house in my old bedroom when we were clearing I dropped it in the little glow fell out of its heavy star shot liquid that was when I cried. I don't know why I must have reached across the car seat and taken your hand as we cruised along on the night road what's the matter you said gently I was thinking about my father strange I was thinking about my mother thinking what you squeeze my hand I saw your ring finger glinting under the low green dashboard lights I remember that ring and when I gave it to you I see it every day but today I see it you said. I wish I had done more for her said more to her. Too late now. He never got on why is that why do so many parents and children never get on is that why you don't want to stab children oh no we're where we were said we think about yes perhaps why should I want my child to hate me isn't there enough hatred in the world you never talk like this glancing at your profile in the area green light I would see the tension in your jaw I love your face I was about to say so but you sell ignore me as this time of year Family time I get here what a mess we make of it and what of our families or of Christmas both. Neither No wonder everyone go shopping displacement activity you smile trying to lighten the mood I said I thought you like the presents under the tree Well I do but how many do we need I was about to remind you that you had yelled in my face less than an hour ago when a voice from the backseat said if only the world could read itself 1st just some of its contents we both glance round I realize that the green light in the car wasn't the instrument panel it was her or she was glowing. The essential is radioactive as well you said as well as what as well as I don't now as well as Suppose she is who she says she is she hasn't said who she is she has she's I am this spirit of Christmas at the child I said and I suppose something extraordinary is happening to us tonight. An unknown child on a wild goose chase my listed season oh what the Wild Goose. This time you squeeze my hand and I saw the muscle in your jaw or lower just a little I want to tell you about love and how much I love you. And that I love you like the sun rising every day and that loving you has made my life better and happier I know this will embarrass you so I don't say anything at all. You switch on the radio Hark the Herald angel saying you sang along peace on earth and mercy mild I saw you watching the child in the rearview mirror. If this goes according to the plan you say we should be seeing Santa Ana team of reindeer and are now what you think about that spirit of Christmas. The voice from the backseat said Turn right here please you do you has a table to do it because she's that sort of child. You took the dark bend accelerated forward install the car just touching down over the roof of a handsome Georgian house holly wreath on the blue front door with a sledge pulled by 6 and closed reindeer Father Christmas smiled at us and waved the child waved back and timed out of the car locks didn't seem to make any difference to her hackles jumped out and followed her Santa clapped his hands the house was in darkness but a sash window on the 1st floor was pushed up by some unseen inside and 3 bulging sacks funded to the ground Santa Claus shouldered them easily I'm loaded them onto a sledge he swerving the place he said. Opening the car door and getting out yes the figure in red came forward convivial is standing his boots and ramming his hand we can only offer this service once a year he told you what bloody service Santa Claus took the opportunity to Phillis pipe the blue star shaped small green blue into the white hair in the old days we used to leave presents because people didn't have much now everyone has so much they write to us to come and take it away. You have no idea how much better it feels to wake up on Christmas morning had to find it all gone. Santa rummaged into one of the bags look has a year's supply of bath salts more socks than anybody can have feet a garlic an olive oil a rifle tower embroidery kit to China pig. And now what you said to have furious phase car boot sale for new year well come and see if you like said Santa follow me he pocketed his pipe and went towards his sledge the spirit of Christmas went with him and hackles that some are catching you shouted at the bottom of the sledge because by now it was in the air this spirit of Christmas was looking very pleased with herself we jumped in the car and followed the sledge is best we could though it took the direct route across the fields it's some kind of jet pack hovercraft you said did we get into this now we were off a little road and bouncing up a track that was killing the car suspension you had both hands on the wheel the sledge came to land a few minutes later we caught up we were outside a darkened windows broken cottage the roof tiles were slipping and the gutter was hung with icicles likely electric ones people buy as decorations except that these icicles weren't an anchor and they weren't decorations the fence takes around the house were tied together with bits of wire and the gate was shut with a stone an old dog slept in the doorway of a disused caravan as the dock raised his head to bark Santa Claus threw a glittering bone through the air and the old dog courted contentedly while the reindeer ate Moss from Nanos bags Santa and the spirit of Christmas went to the house and opened the front door is this a trap like Don't Look Now are we going to be killed us cared I wasn't scared that was because I believed in this Santa came out of the cottage stooping slightly under the weight of a moderate and back he was holding immense power I and a glass of whiskey. No many people leave anything these days he said down in the whiskey in one but I know this house and they know me pain and want my Spanish tonight once a year is all the power I am given what power you said where is the child what have you done with my cap. Center just you back at the cottage its windows let up now the strange green never company of a child we can see quite clearly whether the distance of the table had a clean cloth on it and the child was arranging a high tide cheese while our cat had holes purr with his tail in the air sounder smiled and tipped the sack on to the sledge what fell out was musty and old and broken he picked up the pieces of a plate or 2 on Jack of the Dall without a head now the sack was empty without speaking he awfully empty set to you and pointed towards the car he wants you to fill it I thought Do it please do it but I didn't dare say this out loud This was feel about you. You has a stated and then you opened all the doors of the car and started pushing presents and food in the sack was only a small sack but no matter how much you put into it you could feel it I could see you looking and what was left give him everything I said You leaned over and started taking things from the back seat the cows almost empty now except for the work or reindeer and nothing to ridiculous to give to anybody. You handle the heavy sack to the red figure who is watching you intently you haven't given me everything he said why have them in the work arranging the spirit of Christmas that come out of the house now hackles and her arms he was glowing green too I had never seen a green cat the child said to you. Give him what you fear. The moment was still Ottilie still I looked away like I did when I asked you to marry me not knowing what you would say yes you said yes. There was a terrific flood in the bag fell to the ground and a great weight Santa nodded with some difficulty picked up the sack and threw it on to the sledge it's time to go now said the spirit of Christmas we got in the car drove back along the track the frosted brightened the ground and hardened the stars beyond the dry stone walls the sheep are in huddles in the fields a pair of hunting horses ran along the side of the fence their breath steaming like dragons. After a while you stopped and got out I followed you I put my arms around you I could hear your heart beating What should we do now that we've given it all away. Hamel got anything left a bag of food down the front seat in this you felt in your pocket and took out a full wrap chocolate snowman we both laughed it was so silly he broke a piece off to give to the child in the back of the car but she was sleeping I don't understand then any of this you said deal now. Is there any more chocolate we share the last piece is my city. Do you remember when we 1st met and we had no money at all were paying off student loans and I was working 2 jobs and we ate sausages and stuff and on Christmas Day because we had no turkey we couldn't afford one unit of me a jumper and one sleeve was longer than the other and I made you a stool out of that ashtray the council cut down the left the trunk on the street to remember gaiety as it was freezing because you're in that horrible house both when you wouldn't come home with me because you hated my mother I didn't hate your mother you had of your mother. Yes she said slowly What a waste of life hatred is you trying to pace me you are quiet and serious. Do you still love me yes I do I love you but I don't say it enough to I well I know you feel help but sometimes yes I feel like you don't want me I don't want to force you but I miss your body your kisses and closeness and yes the rest to. You quiet then you said when he Santa Claus or whatever he has asked me to give him what I fear I realize if everything was still in the car and you were gone then what what if our house my work my life everything I have was all where it should be and you were gone and I thought that's what I fear I fear it's so much I can't even think about it but it's there all the time like a war that's coming what is that bit by bit I am pushing you away do you want to push me away. You kissed me like you stick with each other and I could feel my tears and then I realized that they were yours we got back in the car and drove slowly on through the last miles through the village the uneven roof visible under the vanishing moon soon it will be day. 100 figure was walking by the side of the road you pulled alongside the car open in the winder would you like a ride you said the figure turned to us it was a woman carrying a baby the woman pushed back her hood her face was beautiful and strong online and clear she smiled and the baby smiled it was a baby a budget I swear the eyes of a baby instinctively I looked around to the back seat the cat has crawled up in his basket but the child was gone a balance in the sky was dropped pointed star and the light strengthening in the east it's nearly day I said. You had pulled over now you put your elbow on the steering wheel and your head on your hand I don't know what's going on do you she's gone the spirit of Christmas have we dreamed it or are we home asleep waiting to wake up come on I said if Worsley Leslie poured down to the cottage we haven't gone much to carry any more the woman and child were ahead of us now walking or walking we got out he took my hand. We had noticed everything on the water collecting on the buried Ivy the mistletoe in the dark armed Oh the barn where the owl sat under the tiles the smoke like a message curling up from forest fires the ancient innocent time and us part of it. Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had the woman was still walking carrying the future holding the miracle the miracle that bursts the world again and gives us a 2nd chance. Why are the real things the important things so nice a limousine laid underneath the things that hardly matter at all our light the fire I said later you said I'd like to sleep walk back to bed with you. You shy yourself tough but I remember the shine yes and yes asleep or away. Yes and yes. Outside from across the fog proud feelings I heard the bells ringing in Christmas day. Crew are. Christina pickles read Jeanette Winterson the spirit of Christmas I'm Cynthia Nixon in our family we celebrate everything we celebrate Christmas Hanukkah you name it so we have all the all the candle lighting and all the the mini presents leading up to Christmas and then of course the trimming of the tree as my parents used to do we often invite people over to help us trim the tree particularly people who are going to have trees of their own to join us we make a lot of holiday cookies. Gingerbread is my favorite shortbread is my wife's favorite and we. We throw an enormous New Year's Eve party but we start pretty much with Thanksgiving time putting sparkling wines out on our fire escape to keep them nice and cold but what sometimes happens is we sometimes forget that they're out there the spring comes and oh dear we have some spoiled wine. We're very big on the stockings we have a very dear family friend who's no longer with us who needed our our stockings so we always think of her on Christmas morning and we always have a big Christmas breakfast to fortify us in the midst of our present opening sell my wife Christine usually makes a mix of coffee cake and there's a lot of bacon to go around I'm Cynthia Nixon thank you for joining me for selected shorts. Selected shorts is produced by Jennifer Brenner our radio producer is Sarah Montague Matthew love is our Literary Consultant the readings are recorded by Miles b. Smith our programs presented at the Getty Center in Los Angeles and recorded by Phil Richards our hosts are recorded Argo studios in New York City our mix engineer is Deborah Dartrey our theme music is David Peterson's that's the deal performed by the Deardorff Peterson group selected sure it is supported by the Dunn Gannon foundation sponsor of the re award for the short story and Mifflin Harcourt publisher of The Best American Short Stories edited in 2019 by Anthony door support is also provided by the Schubert foundation the ceiling Standish and the fan Fox unless they are Samuels foundation the Henry Nias foundation the Sherman foundation the x. Houghton Foundation and the Joseph and Joan Coleman Foundation for the Arts selected shorts is also made possible by the National Endowment for the arts and with public funds from the New York State Council on the arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature. Sabre's dot com is a proud sponsor of selected shorts. Delivers New York original toasting bagels coffee smoked salmon Bubka and more throughout the 50 states Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands visit them on the web at say bars dot com slash shorts additional support for this program comes from this station and Public Radio International stations nationwide selected shorts is produced by Symphony Space and is distributed by p.r.i. Public Radio International. It's a minute away from This American Life and they're going to bring us the joy the spontaneity and the sense that anything can happen back into Christmas that it's next support for k.q.e.d. Comes from on top of the art center presenting selected shorts the public radio show that comes to the Bay Area for 2 evenings of funny moving and unforgettable stories read by stage and screen actors February 29th Moore at Monte org the historic center is a civic presenting You Tube stars the piano guys live on January 24th tickets available now at San Jose civic box office or on line at ticketmaster dot com The announcers and technical staff of k.q.e.d. Radio are affiliated with the National Association of broadcast employees and technicians c w a f c I o Good evening I'm Lori satyrs thank you for joining us. This is k.q.e.d. 88.5 San Francisco and 89.3 North Highland Sacramento Good evening it's 9 o'clock. It's a special Christmas edition of This American Life we have a bunch of things for you today including Later in the program Christmas on fire but let's just take things off right now with a song recorded in an event we did on stage a little while back. On the 12th day of Christmas my. Me. Being to. 'd sing. A friend chance to journal does. I have always hated that song. I have always had that song I thought that song is symbolic of everything that is bad about Christmas. I say I have no bad feelings about Christmas I am a noncombatant when it comes to Christmas I was on stage talking about the song because we had this idea that we thought might make a really fun thing to try for Christmas and that is we organized a night of improv comedy and I know many people are saying Ok how does it go together why improv comedy in Christmas Ok well this can take all its meaning stay with me this British writer and performer named Daniel kits and I saw him say this thing about Christmas that seems so true he says that when you're a kid and you wake up Christmas morning what makes Christmas feel so magical is this thing of like oh my God it's going to be amazing the world is so full of possibility anything can happen the fact that Santa Claus even exists this literally magical being who came to your home and kids and says this thrilled feeling that anything can happen that is the thing that is so hard to hold on to once you become adults and if he says that so many adults at Christmas they try to recreate the same Christmas year after year with the same everything over and over and over it's like they walk in Christmas becomes the opposite and anything can happen that is why it never feels as magical to adults but it is.

Radio-program , Holiday-related-topics , Christmas-traditions , Christmas-characters , Retailing , Marketing , Christmas-short-stories , Public-radio-international-programs , Law-enforcement , Christmas-plants , Musical-groups-from-los-angeles-california , Christian-folklore

KCLU 1340 AM/K272DT 102.3 FM [KCLU 1340 AM & 102.3 FM]-20181223-140000

From n.p.r. News I'm Luke Garcia Navarro good morning parts of the government shutdown the markets are spooked the secretary of defense has quit and Christmas is around the corner here we are beginning another week of 2018 joining the Trump presidency Santa has left n.p.r. National political correspondent Mara Liasson under the tree for us this morning to explain it all Good morning Mara. Good morning Lou even for a president who thrives on chaos this looks like pique Trump what kind of political cost could there be to the chaos and to the shutdown that's a good question usually the public blames one side or another for the shutdown of course Trump said very publicly that he would proudly accept blame he said I'll take the mantle for the shutdown but his advisers don't think that he's going to pay a political price for this they say this is only part of the government it's Christmas we even though many people don't think it's worth shutting down the government to get a wall they think it is much more politically dangerous for him to be seen as caving on the wall then causing a shutdown but what is the strategy here because someone has to cave right and it's not in the Democrats' interests to then given certainly not the government going to be shut down till the 27th at least one scenario one end game that I'm hearing from outside advisers to the president and something he's been tweeting about remember he said one way or another we're going to build the wall the military will do it so they're saying that he could agree to open the government but at the same time find some amount of money $3000000000.00 in military discretionary funding send them to the border just like they did for the caravan and start digging holes in the ground or putting up concertina wire or steel slats declare some kind of national security emergency of course he'd be taken to court and if it went all the way to the Supreme Court and even if he lost in court he would prove to his base that he. Tried as hard as he could to build the wall they believe he cannot be reelected unless he builds the wall it turns out the president's base the base who he said would let him shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any votes it turns out that they take this wall seriously and literally and on top of all this he's also thrown his foreign policy into a tailspin by threatening to pull troops from Syria and Afghanistan yes he's managed to freak out and infuriate the Republican in Congress with this up until now Republicans have been willing to keep their criticisms to themselves off the record but now they've become quite vocal they disagree with his decision to pull out of Syria Lindsey Graham even said it was as bad a decision as Obama made That's the unkindest cut of all even Mitch McConnell the Republican majority leader has been complaining they are upset about Madison is resignation on principle and it's not just the fact that he pulled out of Syria and took half the troops out of Afghanistan it's the way he did it impulsively with no consultation with his military advisers no top official except for Steven Miller and in the Congress Rand Paul has been praising this and what members of Congress are worried about is what happens next is it going to pull troops out of South Korea he is now an acting his isolationist agenda at a time when he is distracted by other problems makes it him less able to respond to a foreign crisis if there should be words n.p.r. National political correspondent Mara Liasson thank you thank you. We're now going to get reaction from the 2 countries affected by Trump's decision to pull out u.s. Troops 1st to Syria and P.R.'s with Sherlock is in north eastern Syria near the Turkish border an area governed by Kurds who took over during the long civil war there good morning Ruth good morning so what is the situation like there now well on the surface of things you know life looks in many ways normal there's this large Christian contingent here and Christmas preparations are underway we walked out into bustling streets that are decorated with all these twinkling Christmas lights and people are buying decorations and trees and presents but in the middle of all of this there is one word on everybody's lips and that is Trump they are angry and worried about his decision to withdraw from from Syria Well this is of course important to get the perspective of people who are going to be affected by this what are people telling you there well most of the people we've spoken to see this as a huge betrayal and you can hear her speaking about how Tim has and he's this 37 year old. Money exchange shop in a bustling street markets and as he was counting dollars he said all the Trump thinks is money and here is the rest of what he said. They will leave they are. The traders they could have them ISIS. Or they could we destroy them and. Just just leave no one will forgive them so you saying if they leave will curse them as traitors He also tells us that 7 members of his own family were killed on the frontlines fighting in the anti ISIS offensive and he names them and tells us that most of them were young about 20 years old or a reminder of course that the civil war has been absolutely devastating there did everyone you meet there were express this kind of anger is that the universal reaction that. Not everybody you know some people here are happy to see the Americans leave they saw this as an occupation of Syria and one town we entered the smoky cafe where there were men mostly of retirement age sitting at tables playing cards and drinking coffee and the owner. He kind of shrugged when we asked him about the u.s. Presence in Syria you know there is a big threat here that Turkey considers the Kurdish authorities control this area terrorists might attack the Syrian government wants to take this area back but he says he's seen it all before this is a region that is in great turmoil and he just thinks this is a place for Kurds for Arabs for Christians and I mean eons and he doesn't see a role for the Americans here so besides I says there is another problem in this region Turkey views the Syrian Kurds as enemies because there are aligned with Kurdish militants in Turkey and Turkey is threatening an invasion within weeks are the Kurds preparing for that they're very worried and all the officials we've spoken to see this as their biggest threat we spoke with a man who's the spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Council that's the Kurdish authority that controls this area he says this is such a huge concern that they may have to respond to the u.s. Withdrawal by actually stopping to fight ISIS and read direct their troops from where Turkey might possibly attack President Trump of course has said that ISIS is defeated but actually the fight is still going in one small part of Syria and he said we have lost thousands of men in this fight it would be a tragedy to stop and see ISIS perhaps grow again but it's our only choice we have to defend our territories against Turkey So essentially what he's saying is I'm going to stop fighting against ISIS I have to go defend myself against Turkey which I guess is a sign really of how complicated things are there what do Fishel see as a possible solution is there a way for them to avert a Turkish offensive they are willing to talk to the Americans to lead a political solution they're willing to cut a deal with the Syrian government who also wants to control that. Area and its allies Russia and Iran at this stage they are trying to talk to everybody and see what would be the best way to secure Kurdish interests in this region that's N.P.R.'s Ruth Sherlock in northeastern Syria thank you so much thank you so much and now to Afghanistan and America's longest running war there we're joined now by Najib Sharifi He's a policy analyst in Kabul Afghanistan analysis and awareness a think tank based in Kabul Afghanistan thank you for joining us thank you for having me. How are people in Afghanistan reacting to President Trump's decision to withdraw thousands of American troops from that country. Not only that catch people by surprise but the fact that the president was not consulted or even notified about this that was extremely shocking and at the same time very concerning to the people in Afghanistan I mean that's one of the things that's really gotten a lot of attention that President Tom didn't seem to consult with any of the allies before he made this decision the Americans are currently there helping to train Afghan forces how does this affect them. The American forces not here for training they actually take part in the battlefield this rug they system support you have to have troops and missions particularly in a specialist missions like nitrates and stuff so it will. Have an effect on that as well and more importantly it's the psychological impact that is going to be the most the greatest impacts of such hasty and rapid and you know and consulted with drop of such a large scale I have to ask there has been a lot of opposition to the war in Afghanistan here in the United States in some quarters and it can and many Obviously there might feel that it is time after 17 years for the United States to withdraw fear I mean to be in Afghanistan we do not expect the u.s. To stay here forever. You know we understand that one day they will leave and you know the responsibility of defending this nation is primary primarily of responsibility of Afghans but the main question is that if this exit not take place in a responsible and well calculated wit. It will lead to catastrophe if you're not going to stop not on the world. You know of make us lose the shared achievements that Afghanistan has happened 17 years in terms of democratic values in terms of women's rights and terms of education in terms of human rights but it will also you know because many believe this is. This will lead to civil war it will create extensive humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Najib Sharifi works at Afghanistan and now says an awareness a think tank based in Kabul Afghanistan he joins us via Skype thank you so much thank you for having. Me You're listening to n.p.r. News. Things like. These are. Good control who comes closer to what you can do over out. By listening to the Capitol steps your special on this used to. Look Like. A list of your. New Year's Eve at 7 pm New Year's day at noon on k.c.a.l. You I'm Jeremy Hobson We'll look back at the year in World News with C.N.N.'s Christiane Amanpour who says the global balance of power is shifting as all these other liberal democracies and Western democracies and been consumed with their own internal paralyzing problems China is free to influence the world in its own image that's next time on here and now join us for 2 hours of n.p.r. News in the middle of the day it's here and now every Monday through Thursday morning starting at 11 and Casey. I'm Joel Snyder with these headlines Congress adjourned this weekend with the federal government still partially shut down lawmakers are not expected to resume budget talks until Thursday President Trump's push for billions of dollars from border wall funding created a budget stalemate affecting some 800000 federal workers President Trump is defending his decision to pull u.s. Troops out of Syria he posted a series of tweets last night after another administration official resigned Brett McGurk the top u.s. Envoy to the coalition fighting ISIS announced his resignation this weekend his decision follows the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Backus and a next generation of g.p.s. Satellite is taking its place in orbit the private company Space x. Launched the satellite for the u.s. Military from Cape Canaveral this morning on trial smiter n.p.r. News from Washington. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from c 3 powering enterprise digital transformation with artificial intelligence predictive analytics and Io t. Solutions learn more at c 3 dot Ai from indeed used by over 3000000 businesses for hiring where employers can post jobs and use screener questions to build their shortlist of preferred candidates learn more it indeed dot com slash hire and from listeners like you who donate to this n.p.r. Station. This is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Luke Garcia Navarro the criminal justice bill that just passed Congress has renewed hope for those incarcerated in the u.s. Prison system among the reforms the end of automatic life sentences under the 3 strikes penalty for drug offenses that law contributed to the ballooning of the u.s. Prison population over the last 30 years or so including the number of people serving life sentences without a chance for parole the new book The Meaning of Life by Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis of the Sentencing Project makes the case for abolishing life sentences altogether and today we're going to take a look into a particularly troubling piece of that puzzle life sentences for juveniles joining me in the studio is Ashley Nellis Welcome to the program thank you for having me and joining us from why why in Philadelphia is former inmate Robert Holbrook at age 16 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for being the lookout for a drug deal in which someone was killed after serving 27 years he was released last February and is now an inmate's rights activist Welcome to the program to you thank you. So 1st off I want to start with you Robert what's your reaction to the justice reform bill. Well my reaction is positive I mean it I'm always skeptical when when you see a lot of bills passed with criminal justice reform because they never seem to take that deep enough bite that you want on the take However this is I believe this is a good start Robert I want you to take us back now to your initial imprisonment What was that like for a teenager to enter prison with a life sentence it was surreal just trying to wrap my head around that at the time was just something I couldn't do and you had to retain a sense of hope that one day you would be released so you know I was in survival mode the 1st 5 to 10 years of my imprisonment I mean you grew up in prison essentially since you were 16 and 27 years you were there yeah the thing in is in prison when you're growing up the stakes are high because you know every mistake you make you know has serious consequences so you know for a lot of us we were living life walking on needles all razors actually. Actually can you broaden this out for us there are some staggering statistics you've compiled in your book the number of people serving life sentences in the number who were sentenced as juveniles sure so at the moment about 14 percent of our prison population includes lifers which about's to one in 7 people in prison serving a life sentence and within the juvenile arena there are about $12000.00 people serving life sentences for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18 and just like the entire criminal justice system African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionately represented Roberts father is African-American and you know in the book that Pennsylvania where he was convicted is the nation's leader in life without parole for juveniles That's right and the racial disparity you know is of course all over our criminal justice system right from the point of an initial contact so we were not surprised that one in 5 African-American in mates is serving a life sentence actually this book is called The Case for abolishing life sentences what people on the other side of this argument would say is that you need to have something that will deter crime you need to have serious repercussions for serious crimes make the case why should life sentences go especially for juveniles. There is no imperiously evident deterrent value of life sentences or long sentences just as we know there's no deterrent value of the death penalty and where I'm going with this is that it's really the certainty of apprehension that deters people from crime not the severity so when we just stack on sentence after sentence after sentence and think we're doing something to deter crime we're really not what we are doing is continuing to use the criminal justice system simply to remove citizens from society for the rest of their lives. But there's a point in their incarceration when they're younger people are more rebellious they're more risky and you add and prison sentence on top of that you're going to have some trouble usually at 1st for the vast majority of people who even those who have committed multiple often says they age out this is a known fact in criminal a-g. They age out of crime even the chronic offender ages out by their mid to late thirty's what we have when we have life sentences now as a result is we have geriatric institutions who are incarcerating people in basically nursing home facilities and the Department of Corrections in the States was not designed to do that Robert I'm curious to know what it's been like for you since you left prison I mean you entered at 16 you're out in your forty's How's it been. Well I was very fortunate to have a very strong support system family support system and advocacy support system Nestle around the meat or my years in prison so I haven't really had too many struggles and most of my work you know involved revolves around you know my passion which is helping other people who are like me and me you know terrible mistakes when they were younger to give them just an opportunity to show that they are not the worst ever created and most importantly that they hold themselves accountable and they change themself in prison as I did Robert Holbrook as a prison reform activist and one of the people profiled in the new book The Meaning of Life coauthored by Ashley Nellis thank you both so very much for joining us thank you thank you. Language Matters words acronyms they can shape the way we view a story or a group of people who consider one term that the government uses now with John Burnett who covers immigration for n.p.r. Out of Texas Hi John I live in so the term is you see unaccompanied alien children increasing numbers of immigrant children as we know mostly from Central America have taken the long road to the Us Mexico border where they've been taken into u.s. Custody and now federally contracted shelters house a record number of children around 15000 so John take it from here why are we discussing this term. Well what I found out is unaccompanied alien children was 1st used in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 a u.s.c. Is an undocumented immigrant child age 17 or younger who's not traveling with a parent or a legal guardian I turned to Doris Meissner as a guide on these matters she is a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute and she was commissioner of the old Immigration and Naturalization Service in the ninety's under Bill Clinton alien you were. Correct it just has a connotation that is so generally objectionable and as we know the mainstream media doesn't use the term alien anymore we say undocumented or unauthorized immigrant the term illegal alien is now in the province of conservative pundits right so how about the unaccompanied part are they generally crossing alone well this is where it gets interesting Lou So federal agents only recognize parents or legal guardians as legitimate accompanying family members and the past border agents have usually allowed this type of family unit to stay together as their asylum claims are processed but many of the children are actually not traveling alone Dr Amy Cohen is a child psychologist in Los Angeles she says she's interviewed about 40 kids in custody Dr Cohen reached out to me after I did a story a couple weeks ago on that big tent city in West Texas that's housing some 2800 U.S.C.'s so she objects when the government says these teenagers had crossed the border alone many of the children who live into the unit did not at all come on a company they came with grandparents they came with siblings they came with on their uncles right so when the government separates these immigrant children from the people they were traveling with and classifies them as unaccompanied alien children the explanation they give is that they're doing this for the kids on safety right of course a spokesman with Customs and Border Protection reiterated to me that an adult traveling with a child must certify his parents. How are they to know if the man who says he steals one is really the kid's uncle you know he could be a trafficker So in the abundance of caution the government separates the children from everyone but their certifiable parents and when advocates push back and say it's better for these children not to be alone what's the response well as I said most of the kids are in shelters and they get released eventually but 1st the government has to do these long criminal background checks on the sponsor in the us who steps forward to claim the child but Dr Cohen raises the question Who says the shelters they're being sent to promote a child's wellbeing and she pointed me to a recent study from Australia that looked at children held in immigrant shelters versus children released into the community to live with relatives or close friends the children who were released into the community doing much much better and the children who were kept in detention for a wide range of symptoms seem to ration of their growth and development in their mental health I mean their physical all this matters Lulu because the child shelter system has been under enormous criticism for dragging its feet in releasing these children to sponsors no neck and spend weeks and months in custody and as I reported last week the government just announced it's relaxing the screening rules for sponsors in an attempt to reduce the huge size of the shelters that are crowded with unaccompanied alien children. That's N.P.R.'s John Burnett on the immigration beat in Texas thank you so much you bet lower last week Randi Heise was walking his dog along a cow path and Patagonia Arizona when a splash of red caught his eye it was a deflated balloon sitting in the tall grass attached was a ribbon and a note in Spanish that heis quickly realized was a child's Christmas wish list that had floated over the border from the highest Mexico Randi Heise who is a regional planet joins us now to pick up the story Welcome to the program good morning to you so you decided that you were going to make a little girl's Christmas something special I did you know that little girl sent that balloon up in the air with faith that somebody find it and there her Christmas wishes would come true and so I wanted to make sure that I gave that the very best chances of that happening what was on her list in Chandimal clothing allowing books with magic markers paints. And you found out that her name is they are me and with the help of a local radio station this you tracked her down right yeah and the local radio station featured the quest for Diana me on the earth evening news it posted on their Facebook page invited as to the radio station to meet Di I mean enters family and they interviewed her father and my wife and I as well so yeah everyone gathered together the radio station and you came bearing gifts and just described how to go was a very exciting and so good to guests and we had around him and for that the family showed up and we were Santa little helpers there so it was just a joyous experience very heartwarming. This also had some resonance for you because you lost your only son 9 years ago. And so this experience was important to you it wasn't Porton because you know not only do it was a son but we also lost opportunity to have grandchildren right so. We don't have the blessing of those children in our lives or at Christmas time we do a lot of things with kids when we end but you know we don't get to share Christmas with a lot of children so that is really special to both of us and I understand that the Emmy and her sister talk to you about Santa and your role with Santa and it was really serious since we were posing as Santas helpers they were asking questions like Is it true that Santa is never gets seen that much because he's at. What did you say. Oh not a cent it doesn't want to be a Nazi because he's fat it's because he's so busy he doesn't have time for that. This is a really beautiful story and I can't help but think it's particularly pertinent now when there are so many tensions along the border where you live I guess a balloon knows no barriers that's correct and neither does a lot of we need to care for our neighbors we need to we're all in this together just because we may not agree with a certain thing that another person says doesn't need mean we need to respond in a negative fashion this sort of was stuff happens all the time on the earth if you go to what they're not Gallus international newspapers website you'll see a story about firefighters cooperating across the border and they had to pass a hose from the American side over to the backs of Can side in order to as extinguish a blaze that broke out just last week and it was just it's just the kind of thing that happens all the time that people don't even realize it and about the bad things about the border they think of all the wonderful things that are available to us if we just open our hearts to them. Speaking to us from biz b. Arizona via Skype Randy Heise thank you so much of the holidays to you and thank you for the opportunity. I. I I I hear listening to Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News. For many the holidays wouldn't be the holidays without baking and decorating cookies Well turns out cookie baking is an increasingly elaborate hobby and a big growth industry Vermont Public Radio Vermont Public Radio's 9 o'clock reports Mary Thode of Chittenden Vermont is an artist who uses Marang frosting for paint There's an assortment of colors lined up in coffee cups center kitchen table I just stir them to make sure because the color tends to go to the bottom a little bit code reaches for a plain heart shaped cookie or canvas and using a fine tipped paint brush right picks up a dollop of frosting with a few careful strokes she spreads out the shiny red glaze I don't go to the very end of the cookie I like to have a little edge so that it sort of frames it with a toothpick she adds a tiny dab of blue frosting and creates an intricate design so it makes cookies all year baby bottle shapes for shower gifts and pumpkins at Halloween but during the holidays she'll bake about $700.00 cookies half of which she'll paint often with many layers of different colored frosting. I know my husband says long like obsessed with this but those little details I think make it nicer the Vermont resident is among a growing number of people taking the art of cookie decorating to a whole new level many like soda or hobbyists who give their cookies away but it's also big business some of the most elaborate designs by top artists so for $150.00 per dozen literally they're like art gallery quality and it's a cookie then Clark makes cookie cutters for a living and works with some of those elite decorators like a Liz a bit Adams who's known in the cookie world is Artie Magoo I was kind of a hobby Hopper until cookies because I think it satisfy so many different areas of art. For me from the design process and the colors that you choose and then even photographing the cookies later now focuses on teaching others and has more than 80000 followers on Facebook a California resident is the keynote speaker at the upcoming cookie con in Reno Nevada the 3 day conference will bring together $800.00 avid cookie ears and accessory manufacturers from all over the world the popularity of decorating cookies has been great for companies like c k products which manufactures and distributes things like edible glitter sprinkles Marang powder and piping gel Kelly the natives says they can't make enough ready made frosting you can reproduce it you know put it on the businesses were just drill barely chasing that we can't keep up with the demand and Clark cookie cutters a family owned business in Rutland Vermont has also ramped up production. C.e.o. Ben Clark says in the last 5 years they've quadrupled their business and there's simply line churns out 22000 cookie cutters a day he says Cook years always want new shapes for instance this year he says llamas are big we immediately said let's do a lawn mower and our creative director said we're going to do 2 we're going to do one that looks like a llama and have one that's more of a cartoony llama 10 days later both of those products were dominating Amazon as the llama cookie cutter by the time my Chinese competitors product got to the United States we are already on the market for llamas Clark says responding quickly to the growing number of cookie yours is vital so he too will be at the cookie convention in March to learn what shapes they want next for n.p.r. News I'm 9 o'clock in Chittenden Vermont. This is n.p.r. News. Oh I'm Kristie Lu host of Watch from here I can tell that you public radio listeners are on the nice list because there's something pretty special coming your way tune in this weekend for our live holiday broadcast the Town Hall in New York City with Rosanne Cash Jim Breuer and Chamber Orchestra the night grab some eggnog toss another log on the fire and put on those that don't want to see pajamas you got last year good luck from here you won't be needing a gift receipt my from here between noon and 2 Sunday on k.c.a.l. You. How much does your Christmas resemble the holidays in Sicily we did this big dinner chain on it explore the seasonal traditions of Scotland and Ireland 22nd is another big That's called the 12 pubs of Christmas and how they celebrate in Madrid over Christmas their way longer than they are in the rest of the world and Germany I need to have German gingerbread for Christmas or it's not Christmas for me on the next travel with Rick Steves Sunday afternoons at 2. On Trial Snyder with these headlines the death toll is rising from the tsunami that hit several beaches around it Denise's Sunda strayed to the country's disaster agency now says more than $220.00 people are dead more than 800 injured in nearly 30 remain missing the tsunami is believed to have been triggered by volcanic activity British police have released without charge the 2 people arrested Friday night as part of the investigation into the illegal use of drones or grounded flights at London's Gatwick Airport last week Sussex Police now say they have cooperated fully and that they are no longer suspects and in Russia rescue teams that recover the bodies of 9 construction workers who were trapped after a fire inside a POTUS mine in your old mountains I'm joyous night are n.p.r. News from Washington. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Jones Day an integrated partnership collaboratively providing legal services for more than a century 43 offices 5 continents serving clients as one firm worldwide learn more at Jones Day dot com and from at last a collaboration software company powering teams around the world committed to providing the tools and practices to help teams plan track build and work better together more at last Ian dot com This is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Luke r.c.n. Of r o all this year we've been looking back half a century to 968 a lot happened that year that changed America and the world in big ways and small from the shooting of Bobby Kennedy to Apollo 8 to the time the Philadelphia Eagles fans actually pelted Santa Claus with snowballs today we're looking back at a b. Movie it was a horror film that created a whole new genre while also holding up a mirror to a troubled time North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann has our story. I learned about her one for a night of the Living Dead and a couple weeks ago I went to see the restored print of George Romero's classic Black and White Zombie picture and I tried to put myself back in the mindset of someone seeing it fresh back out to get you. Dante and coming for you. Did you find them as one of them now Barbara and her brother don't know what's about to happen spoiler alert it's a global zombie invasion and he's about to get. In 1988 theatregoers were also in the dark with no idea they were seeing a game changing film it played on the double bill what I think it was Dr Who and the Daleks' So it really wasn't expected to do anything Stuart his longtime film critic for The Nation magazine he's written a lot about this film when it 1st green He says people expected the kind of scary movie you go to on a date was for young people to clutch each other in the dark. Date and be scared there's really no sex appeal. It's not that kind of a movie that's an understatement what people got was their very 1st glimpse of what we now think of the zombie shambling undead who hunger for human flesh widespread investigation of reports from funeral homes and hospitals has been floated that the bury that are coming back to life by thinking human victims their mindless and slow and kind of goofy looking but nearly unstoppable they just keep calm and lets you destroy their brain. Soon there's a desperate group of people trapped in a house trying to survive through the night and you also get the sense that civilization itself is unraveling speaking in 1908 with N.P.R.'s Terry Gross Remeron said he was inspired by his own childhood fears. During World War 2 when I was growing up I actually went through in New York City blackouts when we had to close the windows and worry about air raids and I don't know whether those were realistic worries or not but as a kid it was a very frightening experience died in 2017 he said what made his movies interesting wasn't the zombies but the people reacting to them my stories have always been more about the humans and the mistakes that they make and the zombies are just sort of out there one way remember the focus on the people in Night of the Living Dead was by casting an African-American actor Duane Jones in the lead role. I'm afraid. We have to try to. Remember always downplay the decision to cast Jones but it was revolutionary for its time film critic Stewart points out that Romero and Jones made the film over 9 months at a time when racial tensions in America were exploding there was no such thing as being color blind in 1968 in a production that started in the wake of the Detroit Newark riots production that pretty much finished with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr One of the most shocking things about Night of the Living Dead is that Jones' character actually survives the zombies he makes it through the night then this happens I'm sitting here between. Another spoiler alert here Jones character is killed by a group of white men and sheriff's deputies they think he's one of the zombies that shot Ok let's get him that's another one sort of the foreshadowing of our current time the black lives matter protests it's kind of unsettling. Over the years that followed night of the Living Dead kept growing in people's imaginations in part because it influenced wave after wave of others zombie movies everything from zombie land and world word sea to Game of Thrones. As in The Walking Dead but also because it kept reflecting the fears and anxieties of new audiences so the film just took on more and more and more weight as it went. One final surprise is that this b. Movie made on a shoestring is beautiful sure their score but remember also created lush black and white textures and fascinating visual compositions the Museum of Modern Art issued a restored print of the film that's been screening this 50th anniversary year in movie theaters around the world the zombie invasion continues Brian Mann n.p.r. News. In California Central Valley thousands of people left homeless by the campfire will be spending Christmas with friends and family many of them in the city of Chico in fact whole congregations are finding places to stay there k.q.e.d. As Rachael Myrow reports. A looter today she became the leader. In the last month 1st Assembly of God paradise and its sister church in Chico have blended together leaders of both churches run the services including youth pastor Kyle Smith of paradise who's living currently with his family in a 26 foot trailer outside his brother in law's house in Chico we just don't know where I hope I come from the open my eyes the next day all the phone calls and receive the funds that came through the blessings that came in and I saw all rivers in the desert place he's referencing the book of Isaiah scrolling on his phone because his Bible burned in the campfire the pews in Chico are packed now every Sunday but Smith says they're all too aware of who's not there or who's about to leave for good the 1st couple weeks we had more but. People have since had to move and relocate out of state in the Bay or in different places just to have somewhere safe to be and stay more than $10000.00 in gift cards and donations from other churches have rolled in donations the combo congregation intends to share widely move 1st assembly paradise rebuild that's the hope Smith says 2 or 3 years from now we don't have plans we don't have a blueprint one of these days we don't know when but it's come and go ahead it. Was. That. There's no time limit to the welcome coming from 2nd Baptist Church Chico pastor Joseph Valley is good friends with Sam Walker who leads to burned out paradise congregations I took us to. This building is an open building as long as there is a need of it to be opened pastor Cua veiling shares a thought common among Chico's faithful they have an opportunity this holiday season to practice the spiritual values they believe in most dearly in the most practical way possible by taking in congregations made homeless by the campfire go ahead it. Was that she was the favorite. For n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Myrow in Chico. It's almost Christmas which makes it the perfect time to listen to list come. And. See. Does not just put you into the Christmas spirit list McCombs latest album is called simply Merry Christmas and it's a mix of gospel her true love with some jazz and the blues it came out last year at the Paris based musician has been playing to packed houses in Europe is finally back in the United States to talk about the music and she joins us now from Cleveland Welcome thank you Merry Christmas Merry Christmas to you too so you know you spend most of your time in Paris you're back in Cleveland for this conversation and you grew up there what brings you home yeah born and raised them a Cleveland native I mean I'm a home is part of me Cleveland is a part of me the gospel in Cleveland there has been a part of my life and my church is here and it's just the big connection. So tell me when you started to sing from the age of 3 years all on my mama's lake on my mama's knee and my sisters and you did that in the church yes. 2 was. A beautiful arrangement with your powerful voice is there. Someone that you think about when you sing the song. This was one of her favorite and. The songs are so powerful some kind I just weep when I am recording them I was weeping my producer was bringing me paper towels and you know because it's really. A labor of love. To me 'd about that there's something about Christmas music right the takes us back to when we were children yes. And it's such a pure. Time of year and beautiful you share your love with family and people that you love and in our church they gave us an apple and I arranged it and peppermint candy that was a big day oh you know and a gift maybe how she is so or you know something they could afford. Puta for and it connects with me all the time is that why you wanted to do a Christmas album yes Christmas is really it is the reason for the season it's the party of party. That's right what else can I say it's beautiful and I want to go now to another classic This is the Christmas song. When did you 1st hear the song. I 1st heard it from Mel Torme me and I can't tell you the the year because I have loved jazz all of my life and. There was a man in Cleveland named Dave. It was devil you. And I would listen to every night so. I learned of this particular song. With their eyes. As you mentioned this album came out last year but you actually recorded it in 2017 in Paris. You're popular in Europe that's where you do most of your work what keeps you there I think. People enjoy. Our music African-American and American because they know more about the history sometimes than we do and even the gospel music. And the spirituals the others or there's a long history of African-American performers who found popularity overseas you know before desegregation. That found their homes in Europe and felt welcome in a way that they didn't feel in the United States yes I agree with that and I have found a home as well. There's a French Christmas carol on your album Oh yes. And it means about the baby Jesus and His born the baby Jesus. Let's let's have a listen. What's Christmas in Paris like on Christmas Eve It's celebrated not as much on Christmas Day but I think it's a continuation from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day and you have this particular song is playing. And the people call paranoia Father Christmas a Happy Christmas. What's your what's your Christmas wish this year. That we have peace on earth and goodwill toward man and woman we haven't quite gotten to that yet but I have peace in my heart so I can share the quiet peace that God have put in me with of a people. Liz McCall her holiday album is called Merry Christmas thank you so very much for joining us Oh thank you so much for having you know I love you the chance. That. You have made my Christmas thank you so much thank you. So I have a quick question for Leila Fadel who's here in the studio with me as we close out this hour. Who writes Our theme music. Lederman And yes you're right and that's something you'll need to remember because I'm off for a couple weeks and you graciously offered to hold down the fort here I'm excited we are to to have you host Weekend Edition This is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Luke Garcia Navarro and I'm. Sorry Merry Christmas. To. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Capital One committed to reimagining banking offering savings and checking accounts that can be opened from anywhere Capital One what's in your wallet Capital One and a from Babel a European made language learning program babble teaches practical conversation in Spanish French German and other languages available in the app store or online n b a b b e dot com and from the listeners who support this n.p.r. Station. From the polygamy studios at California Lutheran University this is k.c.a.l. You science and technology reporting brought to you in part by the Amgen foundation inspiring the scientists of tomorrow attention shoppers if you are running out the clock on buying gifts especially for a new book we have some advice sometimes Nokia is better than a bad one fate take that gift as like a proxy for how deep someone's feelings are how much you mean to them and kind also how much the other person is paying attention to you The Good The Bad and the bizarre holiday gifts that and the latest news next time on All Things Considered from n.p.r. News Sunday afternoon between 4 and 5 on k.c.a.l. You a listener supported community service of California Lutheran University. In the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago the sound of the season is holiday music with a unique Island flayer you wouldn't hear it as they normally. Do When You. Hear. It is. Christmas in the Caribbean on the next Morning Edition from n.p.r. News so tune in during your morning commute Monday through Friday and k.c.a.l. You it's 7 o'clock pm p r news for the California coast j.c.l. You bam and h.t. 1000 Oaks k.c.l. Useta Bob Casey Santa Maria and everywhere that k.c.l. You Don Oh argy. From n.p.r. News in Washington d.c. This is Weekend Edition.

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