An original story of The Nativity - By Gene Alexander
And there were shepherds abiding
Alexander o< Kinga Monntain, he Is a
gradoale of WeateraChraUna Vnlveralty. He
la married to the former Kathy WUaoB.
-oOo-
Wa had Just flnlahad our evening meal and
aa we aat about tlw flra a chilly braese swept
through our camp. We pulled our aheq>akln
coats tlghUr about our bodiss and moved
closer to the flie.
Indeed, the stars were brighUy twinkling
across the Week expenBe and the naoon's
brilliance lUumlnated the hUla where our
aheep stood grastaig. Havlngr been chosen to
keep the first watch, I reluctantly left the
warmth of the fire and walked amid the
aheep. The f mntlc bleating of one of the flock
dlatuibed the night and I rushed to the top of
the hill. Immediately I perceived a bear
attacking a ymmg lamb. In a flurry I rushed
down the rocl^ slope and In my haste I
tripped and fell headlong. I came to an
abrupt atop when my head crashed Into a
boulder.
After a few seconds I righted myself,
leaning heavily against the boulder. A dull,
throbbing pain shot through my head and I
raised my hand to touch the wound. I had to
withdraw the hand because the touch only
made the pain more Intense. I edged around
the boulder, clinging to It to aid my balance.
My vision waa somewhat Idurred; however,
I soon realised my heroic effort to save the
lamb was a failure. The mangled remains of
the lamb lay on the bloody grass.
With a psdnfUl effort, I lumbered iq> the
hill. As I reached the crest I saw a reqrlen-
dent glow. I shook my head, wiilch rolled the
deep painful throb back and forth against the
walla of my head. I marmged to reach the
crest of the hill and with wide eyes and
mouth agape, I saw an Angel In our camp.
The glow of his preseiKe was like that of
the sun. My comrades were frightened and I
could see one had rolled Into the fire. Fiery
teeth ate at his cloak and he beat at the
flames savagely until the last spark was out.
In a deep, yet gentle voice, the Angel
qwke, saying, “Be not afraid; for behold, I
bring you good news of a great ioy which
shall be for all the people; for to^ In the
City of David there has been born for you a
Savior, who Is Christ the Lord. And this shall
be a sign for you; you will find a baby
wrapped In clothes, arid lying In a manger.”
Suddenly, the whole sky waa as light as a
noon day. And there appeared a whole army
of Angels. With one voice they sang and
shouted praises to Gkxl. The singing was so
loud Itset my ears to ringing. Over and over
fo{gr.>nBl9<Btoial7Tepeatad, “Gtory to Ood In
tbshlgheBt, and on earth pesu:e among men
with whom he la pleased.” Then In the blink
of an eye the Angels were gone, leaving only
the fading image of their glory.
The ache was gone from my head. Run
ning as fast as I could I headed for our camp.
As I bolted Into camp, once again my foot
found a stone and I f^, knocking two of my
comrades sprawling.
The eldest of the shepherds helped us to
our feet. I dusted my cloak and engaged In
conversation with my cottvades about the
Angel’s appearance and what we should do.
No one wished to stay with the sheep. All
wished to go to the City of David, to
Bethlehem. The conversation became a fuss
and we almost came to blows. However, we
agreed that If Ood felt us Important enough
to hear the message and see the babe, then
he would take care of our aheep.
Bethlehem waa a small town we rarely
frequented. Shepherds were not welcomed
by most people. We were lotMrs, non
conformists. People often avoided with
dellberateneae our lot beciuise of our crude
character and rustic, odious dress. Hence,
we only entered towns to sell sheep and
purxhase provisions and this we did quietly.
However, tonight was different.
There were six of us, so we divided Into
pairs. I waa paired with the eldest of the
group for he had a special liking for me.
Bethlehem waa composed of several small
shops, two Inns and petite houses In which
the people resided. The small city waa
packed with pe<9le because at the census
ordered by Cbeasu: Augustus.
The Angel had said we would find the babe
lying In a manger, so we broke Into every
bam In Bethlehem. The first bam I lunged
Into I felt a crushing blow to my stomach and
heard, as I asdled through the door and
thudded to the hard dirt street, the
proverbial "hee-haw” at an Irate donkey.
FYom the house adjacent to the bam came a
light and the figure of a man of huge
proportion. With great elocution he berated
me, then clutched the collar of my cloak and
flung me some distance from his dwelling.
Again, I felt the kindly hand of my alder
friend on my shoulder. He laughed as hs
helped me to my feet and suggested I search
for the child in a leas boisterous mannor.
NO sooner had those words of wisdom left
the elder's mouth, I found myself entering
yet another bam, one which emitted the
pungent odor of animal life. I winced at the
smell, one distinctly that of a camel. I could
Pof^e 44 Thursday, December 23,1976
meiH^y Ohoketmao
A stormy session
on Christmas Eve
not see the camel In the daikness. Though
domestlcatod, a camel should be handled
adth care. I have never tnisted any camel
slnee one bit my hand two years ago. On
ward Into the darkness I moved, my hands
searching outward until I felt a course Mde.I
turned to leave, but too late. The camel
clamped teeth Into my hand, the same bitten
two years before, and I felt a terrible pain
Jolt my enOrs body. I tried mlghtly to free
myself. The camel clung to my hand and
lashed out with a kick that struck a donkey In
the next stall. The donkey brayed and kicked
out, laming the contents of a water trough on
The entire bam was In upheaval until the
ehlar of my group somehow found me and
freed me from the tenacity of the camel. By
way of understatement everything and
everyone In Bethlehem waa either upset or
awake. My fellow shepherds, all as uncouth
as myself, had created havoc In barns and
householda all over the city.
The six of us mat at the well. We were a
dlsoouragad lot as we aat down on the edge of
the well. It was than the elder pointed out the
stable adjacent to the Inn directly across the
street. The same Idea struck each of us In- I
stantly and In a flurry to reach the stable I |
fouixl myself being knocked Into the well.
Soaked to die akin, I climbed out and
followed my comrades to the stable. Water
dripped from the top of my head to my feet
as I entered the stable. I found, as did my
comrades, our way was barred by a man
who had been atormed by our unmannerly
We told this man of the Angel's visit and he
graciously stepped aside, permitting us to
^iproach the manger where the new-born
babe lay. The mother, who had been shaken
from her sleep upon the hay by our entrance,
stood beside the manger. She smiled.
The babe lay sleeping, wrapped In warm
linen, on the soft hay. When we ^iproached
the babe awoke and reached his small hand
upward. I let my finger touch the hand and
the any fingers grasped my own. A feeling of
Joy welled uplnslde me.
Forgotten was the painful eiqierlences of
the night and the eoaked clothing I wore. For
the first time In my life I felt Important. For
some unexplainable resMon, this small child
transmitted a sensation of security to me.
The Angel considered the birth of this babe
as good news. In fact, the Angel had called
this child Messiah. Cfould this small child
possibly be our future king? I wondered what
the Angel meant by Savior? Would this babe
redeem us from the Roman Empire?
These quesOons continued to Unger In my
mind from the night I saw the babe. Tet,
somehow, I knew that my future aa a human
being was In someway, cmu^^l} to him.
•W4
The Poet’s
Corner
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9MITH
BLIZASSTHtTSWABT
MSMSSSOS
NORTH CASOLIMA
PRSM AitOCIATION
Tlw Mlrror-Htrald l> publlNwd by Obntrsi
ubllMilnt Cempany, P. 0. Oraioar in. Kinst
Muntain,N.C..MMi. Sininaatand adilarltioHicaa
ra lecatad at M4 Soutb Piadment Ava. Phona rw-
m. Sacand Claat pettaea paid at Klnsa Mauntain.
. C. SIntta capy IS canta. Svbacription ratal: m.SO
tarty M itata, S4.1S tlx mantbi; tl.se yaarly aut-af.
The month of December has figured
promlnenUy In the affairs of this state’s
General Assembly.
The "stormiest session In the history of the
legislature,” up imtll that ttme, was held on
Christmas Eve of ISM.
And as Is so often the case. It was over a
matter which scarcely concerned the
average cltlsen of that day.
At Issue was no tight over taxes, budgets,
apportionment or annual sessions. Instead,
It was largely an Internal fight, concerning
the leglalators themselves.
IMtll ISIS (and the passage of an amend
ment to the U. S. OonsOtutton) the General
Assembly had the right to elect the stote’s U.
S. Senators. And having elected them, the
legialature felt It had the right to tell those
Senators how to vote on Important matters.
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Dialogue, Mirror-Herald, P. O.
Drawer 763, Kings Mountain, N.
C, 38086.
The burning Issue In IBM waa an effort by
Democrats In Oongress to have a vote of
censure agabiet President Andrew Jackson
removed from the records of the U. 8.
Senate. (Jackson had been censured by that
body for his acUons In trying to destroy the
Bank of the United States). One of this
state’s two Senators, WlUle P. Mangum, a
Whig, had voted In favor of the motton, and It
was weU understood that he would resign his
seat rather than reverse that vote. Con
sequently Whigs In the General Assembly
fought bitterly to prevent his being “In
structed” to do so.
Fbr almost two months the legislature
wrangled over the matter, accomplishing
little less. On Ouistmas Eve (long past the
ixsmial time of adjournment) the battle
contirwed, with repeated efforts to adjourn
by the Whigs being voted down. Tempers
foayed, and the language. It was said,
became more rancorous than ever before or
since In the legtalattve chambers.
Finally, the motion to Instruct the state's
two Senators to vote against censure passed,
by a narrow margin, and North Carolina's
leading figure In Washtagton, WUlle P.
Mangum was faced wltha long ride honM for
his Christmas present.
Also In December U, 17M, the legialature
met for the first time In ttw state’s new
cspitol dty of Raleigh, badly overflowing the
few available Inns, taverns and private
THEEMPTFBOX
As CSiriatmas time comes, and Is drawing near.
As wreaths are bung, to bring good cheer
As we go about, our gifts to be bought.
For each special person, our selection la sought.
A truck for the boys, a doll for the girls.
With big blue eyes, and long shiny curls
A apron for Mom, a tie for my Dad,
One empty box I wrap with such dread.
For Ood has seen fit our drcls to be broken
He came and He saw and His word has He spoken
For Dad’s service on earth hare was complete
His body was frail and hla mind was weak.
So Ood has taken him to his heavenly home.
Where now this Christmas with angels he roams.
Ho win qiendChristmas this year, not with us.
And our hearts are heavy, but In Ood we do trust
Cn December n, 1860, a etUaens group In
Wilmington wired Ooveraor John W. Bills,
asking for pemUsalon to seise the mlUtary
Irwtallattona, Fbrts Osawell and Johnston,
which guarded the approaches to the Capo
Fear River, and which were manned by the
U. S. Army. These torts were “vital to their
city’s Interests," the group said, and If the
state refused to act, they would take matters
onto their own hands.
On January 6, made Impatlant by this
slate’s cautious approach to hostlttty with
the U. S. government, the pro-eeccesatonlst
forces acted, selalng the Ughtly-maimad
forts on their owTL It waa the first step taken
In North Carolina down the road toward
To give us the strength to hold our heads up high
Because tonight Dadify wUl spend Christmas with the
Christ Child,
Why, my box mi really empty anymore
It’s filled with love for one we adored.
Merry Christmas, Daddy.
(Wrtttoa bv Betty WlUtams Philips tor the
family of kfe- OecU F. Wimarns)
*FO<» FOB THOUOHr
I climbed the highest mountain. To the utmost peak.
For peace of mind and heart my soul did seek.
Looking down Into the valley, upon the people.
Suddenly' I saw a lonely little church yard.
And above It’s stoaple. Rising higher and higher.
Above the world above the peopio.
I could see a Cboaa, Much higher than the steeple.
Rising higher and higher, igwn It’s flight.
CHvlng to the world, which slowly hadbegun to close
The curtains of night.
SOU glvlngout It’s wonderful light. And It waa than.
I felt the true meaning from within.
That God had Sent HU
Only Begotten Son, Too, mve man from his sin.
And this was Hla wonderful way of inviting man In.
ThU time of year U so beautiful
If we stop to think of loved ones
We celebrate the birth of Jesus
Its a ttme to be together tor fun.
We have friends far away
And we have friends near
Lets not forget the little Babe
That we hold so dear.
We can share our things with
Others who are not fortunate as we
But don’t forget the Christ Child
As we putupourtree.
Our Saviour came as a tiny child
To save us from our sin
Soon He was preaching saylng-
Tou must be bom again.
Today U the ttme of Salvation
Its a time of sin and war
If we live as we should
We’U always be ready to go.
MYRTLE GOFORTH
Christmas Is the ttme for believing In
the extant of God’s love tor man.
Even before Ho sent His gift
Or before tbs world began.
Christmas la the ttme for glorifying In
the things we do not understand.
As faithful Joseph did of yore
Whan he took fohr Mary’s hand.
Ctoiatmas Is the ttBM for dwelling cn
Baby Jesus In a crib of hay,
AltowIng tender thoughts to rest thsrs
the true wonder of Christmas day.
Christmas Is the time for giving
light a candlo that mmaone may see
The endlaaa love of Our Father who gave
Hla gut to hang on a tree.
the World Wrapped In Splendor
the skies held their space,
A glowlagetar shone on a baby’e face
in Bethlehem’s stable on glorttled hay
God's Holy gttt to owaddUng elolhes lay.
Glory toiane’roiBid the stable aglow
Placed aa angel at Ms hiad, osM at the toe
The ehlas cried out, behold the view
An angel wUh a heavenly Hieet
Wrapped the world to a aong,
A baby bom to dto to right a wrong
ire about that ttoM again, but when 1