But I believe the appeal of this little book goes far beyond its clever language—“Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that”—and its parade of memorable spectral characters.
Dickens, through his miserly
character of Ebenezer Scrooge— disenchanted, lonely, work-obsessed—has hit on a
dilemma we all struggle with. For most of us mere mortals, Christmas does not
often live up to our expectations, the holiday seldom as shining and bright as
promised. And there’s always more work to be done.
More to the point, though, who isn’t haunted by their own version of Dicken’s ghosts? Who doesn’t have at least one personal horror story about the holidays? The truth is most of us are haunted—if you’ll excuse the pun—by one or more of our own ghosts of Christmas past, wearing us down like the chains the ghost of Marley dragged around in Dicken’s narrative.
So what’s to be done?
Another holiday approaches with Godspeed and we must face it.
“I wish…but it’s too late now.”
These words whispered by
Ebenezer echo our own desperation. But, through his inventive story, Dickens
proves that it is never too late—though it took four ghosts and a near death experience to convince old Scrooge.
This Christmas, let’s not be
so stubborn. As the sudden death of a close friend taught me recently, tomorrow
is promised to no one. Though we may not be able to forget, we always have
permission to forgive—both others and ourselves.
It’s not too late to make
amends.
It’s not too late to say I’m
sorry.
It’s never too late to say I
love you.
I hope this year your Christmas
season is shiny and bright, restful
and blessed.
My ghosts? I have my share
like everyone else, but most times I enjoy their company. Of course, I prefer
to encounter them in the pages of The
Christmas Carol or maybe even, my own ghost story/mystery, Blood on the Chesapeake.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Merry Christmas and, in the
words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone.”
Randy Overbeck
Author of the new paranormal mystery,
Blood on the Chesapeake
#1 of the Haunted Shores Mysteries series
randyoverbeck@ authorrandyoverbeck.com
www.authorrandyoverbeck.com
Blood on the Chesapeake
#1 of the Haunted Shores Mysteries series
randyoverbeck@
www.authorrandyoverbeck.com
Winner of the GOLD AWARD from Literary Titan!
FIVE STAR REVIEWS from ReadersFavorite.com, Long and Short Reviews and Literary Titan.
“Timely and original. A terrific one-sitting read!”—Hank Phillipi Ryan, Best Selling Author
“Kept me turning pages until the totally surprising conclusion.”—Kings River News and Reviews
“A tale
to be savored in a darkened room, with an eye to all the
possibilities lurking just out of sight.”—William Kent Krueger, Edgar
Award Winner
“A thrilling whodunit with a supernatural edge.”—Future Mostly Mystery Magazine
Wonderful post, Randy. Happy Holidays!
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