Obama’s Elf

Some days my musing is random and rambling…Yesterday’s started with jolly Father Christmas, dressed in red and white, ho, ho, hoeing his way through hopeful children and anxious parents. Sometimes he identifies as Santa Claus…

…Then there’s speculation about whether there’s a Mrs Christmas, and the nature and number of his elf assistants… who I fear are sometimes, particularly during pantomime season, confused with Snow White’s seven dwarves. Wondering if such vertically challenged characters are appropriate; I gave up, confused.

…Musing with grandson-Luca… I picked up after school. We were having a nonsense conversation – it’s a regular occurrence. Yesterday’s, even more bizarre than usual, involved Luca’s friend Luca who wanted to know whether his grandad knew his friend Luca’s grandad… when both were the same but different…

…Luca started talking about Obama’s elf. I inquired how this elf fitted into our nonsense conversation. With a Celine Dion-like voice he started singing, ‘Obama’s elf, don’t wanna be, Obama’s elf, anymore.’

Clever. I smiled.

…Musing on the actual words, ‘All by myself, don’t wanna be, all by myself, anymore.’

A usual conversation starter at this time of year is, ‘What are you doing for Christmas?’ The usual, expected answer involves family, friends – who’s going where and when. Last week a friend who has no family, and whose much-loved wife died a few years ago, told me that he would be content to share his Christmas with a bottle of whiskey…

…Musing on Mary, a teenage girl with an unexpected pregnancy, giving birth far from her home and family. The baby’s placed in the animal’s feeding trough; the only visitors are strangers. Fearful? Uncertain? All by myself? Could Mary have felt the continuing lyrics…?

Hard to be sure
Sometimes I feel so insecure
And love so distant and obscure
Remains the cure

The baby grew to be a man who taught and demonstrated that love is the cure… love doesn’t have to be distant and obscure… we don’t need to feel insecure…

Obama’s elf doesn’t get a look in.