INCITES
By Ed Silverstein BY SAMANTHA DELPENHA
In celebration of the holidays and to close out the year, I wanted to write the quintessential holiday column. My goal was to create a masterpiece that would encapsulate the very essence and spirit of the season. Somehow words would spring forth that would bring joy to all, define the true meaning of Christmas and leave us all with a deeper understanding of our fellow man.
Though I dredged deep into the emotional loam, alas, my efforts proved woefully inadequate. It was apparent that this column would require the talents of someone far more sage.
I turned to Samantha Delapenha, my niece. She is 10 years old. Her dad was killed in the 9/11 tragedy. Samantha wrote the following story for her fifth-grade class.
CHRISTMAS ANGEL One morning I woke up, and I was a Christmas angel on the top of a Christmas tree. I had a pocket of GOLDEN coins and a slip of paper that said I may give these coins to people and that it will grant them one wish. So I flew off the Christmas tree to start my journey.
I started off by flying over New York. I saw a lot of people on the street. So I flew down and gave some of them a GOLDEN coin. I told them that it would grant them and their family one wish.
Next I flew to California where the wild fires were going on. I found some families that had nowhere to go, so I flew down and gave each family a GOLDEN coin.
After my California journey, I flew to Iraq and saw many soldiers fighting for our country. So I flew down and gave them a GOLDEN coin. I told them that it would grant the entire troop one wish.
I was going home, and I forgot that I was not visible, and I saw my mom crying, so I made myself visible and flew down and gave her my last GOLDEN coin. I told her that our family could make one wish, and so we did. We wished that My Father was still alive. Then there was a flash of light and poof IT WAS MY DAD!!
Our family was so happy! I looked in my pocket, and I found four more coins and gave one to my brother, one to my sister, one to my mom and one to my dad. That night we flew around all the places I had gone to, and heard everyone making their wishes. My dad was able to stay, and that was the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!!
Happy Holidays.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 17, 2003. Read the original PDF.