FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 13, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
letters & comments
A LOOK BACK
This 1945 photo shows the intersection of Myrtle and Cooper avenues in Glendale, looking west toward the Glendale Memorial
Triangle. The triangle looks much diff erent now, as a new public plaza was recently constructed there. Send us your historic
photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com (Subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, The Queens
Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
MEMORIES OF
CHRISTMAS PAST
Christmas is almost here
and and there is much for
most of us to do, gift s to wrap,
a few more cards to send out
and few more decorations to
put up.
It is also a time to refl ect
about the troubles in the
world. We can’t help but to
wonder about the message
which is, “Peace on Earth and
goodwill toward men,” yet
where is it?
It is times like these that I
think a lot of of us perhaps
refl ect on a gentler time in
our past. I, for one, found
myself thinking about a
Christmas when I was young
and America was not so troubled.
It was 1957 we were in the
Cold War atmosphere and I
didn’t care nor understand
such things as I was only 8
years old. I was living in a
corner house on 213th Street
in Queens Village. Th ere was
my mother and my father and
two blind borders my mother
took care of. We didn’t have
much money but we always
has a good Christmas. It was
always full of love and caring
and sharing and plenty of
music, especially during the
holidays.
We had traditions like a lot
of families do, one of which
was to go out a few days
before Christmas and to buy
a fresh Christmas tree. Th at
night my father and I were
about to go out for the tree
when my father’s car would
not start. It was a crisp, cold
night and snow was on the
ground and more falling.
My father had an idea so my
mother wouldn’t feel disappointed.
We would take my sled
to a place where they sold
Christmas trees, about a half
a mile from the house on
Jamaica Avenue and Francis
Lewis Boulevard. When we
got there, my father picked
out this beautiful six-foot
tree. He tied it on top of my
sled and we took it home
through the snow, while we
sang Christmas carols.
We got back to the house
where my mother had a special
place in our living room
across from the fi replace for
our Christmas tree. Our job
was done once it was placed
in a stand and my mother,
with tender loving care,
would decorate the tree with
such love for every detail.
It was a time when kindness
and love seem to bounce from
house to house and neighbors
would greet each other
with a “Merry Christmas.”
Christmas carolers would
sing from house to house
and churches would be fi lled
with worshipers. I remember
myself singing in a church
choir and being in Christmas
pageants where one year I
played a shepherd and another
year as a wise man.
I think Christmas meant
a lot back than. I just can’t
help but wonder if that kind
of Christmas would return
again. Th e picture-perfect
Christmas may be laced with
imperfections but it was, I
think, a little better then.
I can’t help but wonder if
America could return to family
values and goodness and
to show kindness to others
and live out the true meaning
of Christmas which is,
“Peace on Earth and good
will toward men.”
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
A GLIMPSE AT
OUR FUTURE?
Th e vernal equinox, the
fi rst day of spring, is March
20, 2019, at precisely 5:58
p.m. Eastern standard time.
It is at this moment when
the plane of the Earth’s equator
passes through the center
of the sun — or to put in
layman’s terms, it is the exact
time when the sun crosses the
celestial equator, the imaginary
line in the sky above the
Earth’s equator.
Due to the late winter blizzards
in our country aff ecting
millions of people and covering
many states here last year,
President Trump will have
declared spring will offi cially
begin this year on March
28, to coincide with the traditional
opening of the Major
League Baseball season.
Scientists and physicists
and meteorologists will vociferously
oppose this legislation,
saying that the spring
equinox is an astronomical
event. It is not something that
can be postponed or rescheduled.
Democrats will be up
in arms over this latest presidential
decision, claiming
natural laws cannot be violated
and begging the Supreme
Court to intervene on this
“orbital debacle.”
Members of Congress have
no comments except to say
“Let’s go Mets!” and hope
the Mets pitching rotation is
more stable than the Earth’s
rotation on its axis.
Mark Lane, Little Neck
ENJOYING LIGHTS IN KEW GARDENS // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @hellhoundluke
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