THE VOICE OF WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE
VOLUME 26, NUMBER 4
WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
DECEMBER 18, 1995
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Light One Candle.
First this truism of modern hfe:
Advances in technology tend to push
aside previous ways of getting things
done. For example, the auto pushed
the horse mostly into the leisure world
of riding, racing and polo, when it
used to be the primary mode of trans
port as well.
But though oil lamps, gaslight and
electric light have all come to the fore
since early man created the candle, it
has not gone the way of the horse. In
fact, candles numbering in the
millions are bought and lit each year.
They remain such powerful symbols
that many fancy, decorative lightbulbs
are fashioned in the shape of lighted
candles.
The flickering flames of candles can
kindle these thoughts and images...
the holiday spirit
a birthday or anniversary cake
the peace of a religious service
a romantic dinner for two
a candlestick with one Jack jump
ing over it
the candle wrapped in barbed
wire of Amnesty International, the
human rights organization
a menorah for Chanukah, Jewish
Festival of Lights
the lit candelabrum on a piano
Christmas Wish Lists
Feel the Warm Glow
lA ..
♦..Pass It On
which a dazzling Liberace played
a candlelight vigil to mourn a
tragedy
the lighting of another’s candle as
members of Alcoholics Anonymous
seek to help each other into sobriety
an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem:
My candle bums at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But, oh, my foes, and, oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light.
Even the candle’s larger version has
gathered enduring images...
The eternal flame that burns in
memory of John Kennedy, the presi
dent who said, "the torch has been
passed to a new generation of Ameri
cans”
the eternal flame in Greece from
which a torch is lit and carried by
numerous runners to each current site
of the Olympic Games
Finally, no one can hold a candle to
the tribute paid "the first lady of the
world.” Said Adlai Stevenson of
Eleanor Roosevelt in 1962: "She
would rather light candles tf\at curse
the darkness and her glow has warmed
the world.”
Just light one candle and warm your
world.
Remember when you were in Kinder
garten and you would sit in your little
desk (well OK, some of you were
sitting in your desks, the rest of you
were probably bouncing off the walls
much to the dismay of your teacher)
and you would watch with antici
pation as the teacher added one more
cotton ball to the "beard” of the Santa
face calendar signifying that there was
one less day until Christmas? It
seemed as if there was an eternity until
Christmas came and you could finally
find out if that gift you’d been shaking
for the past month was in fact, the toy
you had been begging for all year.
Now that we’re older, Christmas
seems to come around a lot quicker.
Maybe it’s because with all the hustle
and bustle, we barely get all the pre
sents that need to be gotten wrapped
and put under the tree in time for
Christmas Eve, or maybe it’s because
we’re still paying the bills for last
year’s Christmas presents and can’t
believe it’s time to go in debt once
again. One thing’s for sure ~ we don’t
take the time to write out our wish
lists for Santa anymore (and by saying
Santa, I don’t necessarily mean a fat
man in a red suit who lives at the
North Pole. Santa can be anyone who
is planning on buying you a present).
Maybe if we took the time to write out
our wish lists, we could cut down on
the number of forced smiles and
"thank-yous” uttered through
clenched teeth on Christmas Day.
Some of you are probably saying,
"I’ve done it and it doesn’t work!” I’m
sorry, but you must keep your wish
lists somewhat reasonable because
some things the Jolly Old Elf himself
couldn’t bring you. Well, I decided to
help Santa out this year by asking a
few people what they wanted for
Christmas. So Santa~if you’re out
there, take a look at these:
Syble Walker— clothes or money
Michelle Soots— a car
Heather Bouchard— her car fixed
Shelley Schreiber— a new pair of
Levi’s
Albree Wike— a brand new car
Ian Waters— musical stuff-guitar
strings and such
David Kilby— a relationship
Scott Farrington— money and a
White Christmas
Kendrick Phipps— clothes
Tyiezza Shepherd— everybody to be
happy
Heath Inman— 6 Puerto Rican girls
As for me, I hope that everyone gets
what they want the most for Christ
mas this year. -Amber Burgess
Former Student
Does Well
Rash
Former Wilkes Community Col
lege student, Allison Rash, was re
cently promoted to Assistant Vice
President of the First Union Cor
poration. She was also named Senior
Public Relations coordinator. Ms.
Rash was editor of the WCC Year
book, a member of Phi Theta Kappa,
and attended WCC during the year
1987-1988.