Here’s to the people in the Christmas trenches: To the sales clerks who deal with hordes of people over abnormally long hours — and almost always politely, cheerfully, no matter what our cranky, hurried provocations;
To the postal clerks who bravely face the endless lines of chronically ill-informed patrons, kindly guiding them through the wrapping requirements, the poundage prices and the other mysteries of the federal mail, for hour upon hour with barely a grimace and lots of cheer;
To the solid citizens who serve in the transportation industry, the people with the buses, the planes and taxis who guide the unruly Christmas sardines to their appointed places, remaining constantly cordial;
To the saints who serve our safety all through the season, putting their own Christmases aside whenever they are needed — the people in the police and fire stations, the medical personnel, the snow crews on the streets and highways, the public utility emergency crews;
And to Santa himself;
You are all working but not forgotten. And you should be proud, this Christmas, of what you give. — B.H.
This Bill Hall opinion piece was published in the Dec. 24, 1981, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
