1979-11-28; Central Michigan Life

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Vol, 61   No.i39j«£.
0  Central Michigan LIFt*}-'
Mount Pleasant. Michigan 48859
-*■*! Telephone? 774-8493- 774-3830,
54 pages
-CM LIFE ART BY PENNY FABEft
Types differ, but the spirit thrives
Tome people do not believe in Christmas. There
are those who deny there is a Santa Glaus, those
who don't believe in God and those who feel the
day has turned to a materialized sham.
And then there are the crazies.
The best place to find the crazies is in any shopping center,
beginning the day after Thanksgiving, up until Christmas eve.
The crazies believe in Christmas, Santa Glaus, God/materialism,
candy canes, guardian Angels, tinsel, and eggftog.
In general, they believe in everything, basically, because they feel
the more they believe in, the better the Chance one of those many
beliefs will turn out to be something that merits believing in.
Something tangible to hang on to. The blanket is the Christmas
spirit. The crazies curl up under it and hog the covers until Dec, 26.
The opposite of the crazies, as mentioned before, are those who do
not believe Christmas even exists. The outer fringes. These non-
believers are allergic to pine, and buy candy canes the day after
Christmas because they are half-price then.
At CMU, there is a healthy mixture of both crazies and non-
believers. This mix makes for an interesting mood on campus as the
holidays approach.
(There are 49 Americans in Iran.)
Back at the shopping center, the Salvation Army volunteer is
ringing a bell, as are various cash registers. Crazies are buying, non-
believers are wandering around wondering if the rest of the world is
crazy, or if there is something wrong with them,,.
They needn't worry. What matters is the whole, that blanket
mentioned earlier, and the more intricate the pattern the more
interesting the blanket.
(Hundreds of Cambodians are starving. It doesn't look like the
Beatles are getting together for a concert, or the Chips will get a
bowl bid.)
Posing the abstract question, "Do you believe in Christmas?" is as
ambiguous as asking "What is life?" The non-believers say no, and
the Crazies are too busy to answer, as they are running to the next
display to pick out that perfect gift.
In this season of new birth, in this month when CMU takes a well-
deserved break, while we join the ranks of crazies or non-believers,
we will think about a few main topics*
Have you finished your Christmas shopping? What are you doing
on New Year's Eve? Should, you take a part-time job over break?
Can you survive a month with your parents? Have you seen
"Apocalypse flow"? Should you see it tonight or wait for the
ntatinee? ,
Leonard, Cohen tells the story of standing on a street corner in
New York City and seeing a blind man with a cardboard sign around
his neck which read: Please don't pass me by. Please don't pass me
by. I am blind, but you can see. I've been blinded totally.
Standing on a corner in Mount Pleasant, with cardboard in our
mouthes we figure we turned in our last paper, graded our last set
of exams, we deserve a little relaxation. We get in the car and head
up the highway home. Turn up the radio and focus on speeding past
the exit signs.
The campus/community of Mount Pleasant is not a bitter bunch as
a whole. We are each weaving a blanket for ourselves that is interesting ail by itself. No one owns the right to any conversation we
' have with friends and acquaintances. We know what we want to say
before we chose not to say it.
And this is a plus to the higher education stint we're all in
together. Refuse to buy a piece of what you can do without and no
one will pass judgement—except the crazies. But they won't be
home until after Christmas anyway, and the non-believers are at the
shopping center still looking for a parking spot anyway.
Think it through for yourself. Curl up in a chair and fall asleep
reading. Don't preach. Remember to laugh hysterically at least once
a week.       • «
There are presents to wrap. Wonderful smells coming from the
kitchen. 49 Americans starving in Iran. Thousands of Cambodians
being held hostage in Iran. Non-believers protesting the streets.
Crazies Standing on streetcorners wearing sunglasses.
AjSanta and eight tiny reindeer at the top of this page, directly
above what you are reading.
A well-deserved break.
A joyous birth.
And a very believable season of celebration.
*  " -DIANE NISDZWIECKI
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