A Second Digital Crossings Christmas.

We thank God for seeing us through to a second Digital Crossings Christmas. The sentiments I shared last year still hold true, but the message of Christmas holds true for all time: the greatest of gifts is in a child born of a virgin in the humblest of circumstances.

I shared this poem last year also and it is several years old, but the third verse is brand new. Enjoy.

AN AFRICAN CHRISTMAS
Why sing we songs of mistletoe?
Why exalt we the pure white snow?
What meaning, tell, Rudolph's red nose?
What romance bears fireside repose?
In an African Christmas?

Why not dream of harmattan air?
Why not laud bluest atmosphere?
Extol the smell of burning grass,
Sing of dust, not frost on glass
In an African Christmas

Why spend so on tinkling bells?
Why gorge 'til your belly swells?
The lust of things, halt, dispel.
The true Yule tale we must tell well
In an African Christmas.

It's not the seasons of the year
That shape the wondrous Christmas air,
But Mary's infant meek and mild.
Praise then, all men, the Holy Child
In an African Christmas.

Oladejo Fabolude

Breaking the Silence

A year ago today, Tejiri was born.I wrote this blog post while I waited for news of her birth and posted it once she was born.

A few days later, my mother-in-law held Tejiri in her arms. Well, a year has gone by, and on this day of Tejiri’s first birthday, my mother-in-law is not here to hold her. She will never hold her or any of her grandchildren again. My mother-in-law was taken away from all of us, in part by a deadly (but survivable) disease, but primarily by indifferent medical care.

Pause

This is my 100th blog post on Digital Crossings.

I started this blog in order to start writing again. As a university student, I had fully planned writing to be a key part of what I do for the rest of my life. Of course, like many can imagine, things didn’t work out that way. After putting writing on my New Year’s resolutions lists for several years, in 2009 I actually started writing again. I didn’t care what I wrote as long as I could write (call it my Startup story if you like @Possicon). I wanted to write regularly, so I committed to writing at least once a week. As an IT guy, I chose to write, what I imagined would be easy, non-controversial and would not require a lot of regular effort.

From that perspective, this exercise has been an unqualified success. Since February of 2009, I have written a blog post every Tuesday and a few more besides. It hasn’t always been effortless or non-controversial, but it has been a lot of fun. Right now, I can’t imagine not writing weekly.

And yet there won’t be a Digital Crossings post next week Tuesday or for many Tuesdays to come. This is the blog post in which I press the “Pause” button on Digital Crossings.