Talk of the Town: Name that Christmas tune

The following Christmas carols might have been written by government officials. Can you guess the original titles?

1. Move Hither The Entire Assembly Of Those Who Are Loyal In Their Belief

2. Embellish Interior Passageways

3. Vertically Challenged Adolescent Percussionist

4. Majestic Triplet Referred To In The First Person Plural

5. Allow Crystalline Formations To Descend

6. Commence Auditory Reception The Announcing Cherubs Vocalize

Answers at the end of the column.

Longtime Green Valley resident Charles Wysocki Jr., 85, recently released his self-published book, “We Buried Our Buddies & My Stories,” (Trafford Publishing) and he stopped by the Green Valley News office to tell me all about it.

Taking him nearly 10 years to complete, Wysocki’s book is all hand-printed and contains black and white photos taken at various times in his life, from childhood to his military years and even a few taken at his 60th wedding anniversary in Feb. 2007 with his wife Bernice.

Wysocki says he wrote the book to share his experiences in World War II. He served in the Second Marine Division, (Company D, 2nd Battalion, 18th Marines) from 1942-1945.

“It is the true stories of my participation in the battles for the Japanese-held islands in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II,” the author says. “The book tells of the Battle of Betio and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. We buried 17 men in all, and these were the ones we could find.”

Wysocki also tells of the Battle of Tulagi (Guadacanal Operation) and the Saipan and Tinian battles.

In one chapter, he writes about being wounded and of the corpsman who, under fire, came to help him and get him to safety.

“My experience in World War II gave me the opportunity to meet many people, both in the military and civilian life,” Wysocki said. “What I learned about life and war, I believe I became a better person and a better human being today.”

Wysocki has been very active the past 30 years in Green Valley. He was a driving force behind the American Legion Post No. 66 and the Green Valley Avenue of Flags.

Wysocki’s account of his time during World War II reads very much like a diary, as the author recalls many happy and some unhappy and tragic episodes of the war.

To order “We Buried Our Buddies & My Stories,” contact Chuck Wysocki at 625-1519 or call Trafford Publishing, toll-free at 1-888-232-4444.

The Elks Auxiliary provided Christmas cheer for many Del Coronado residents this year. On Dec. 17, 60 residents of the Del Coronado Retirement Apartments were the recipients of Christmas cards containing $20 in cash and small gift bags stuffed with lotions, shampoo, soaps and candy.

The Elks Auxiliary contributed all of the cash and supplies used for filling the gift bags, making happy holidays for all.

Del Coronado Apartments, on La Canada, is an independent living community funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture providing housing for very low and moderate income households.

Puppeteer Nancy Tyndall will perform “The Shoemaker and the Elves,” Sunday, Dec. 28, at 10 a.m. at Canoa Hills Recreation Center during a special holiday forum for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Green Valley.

“The Shoemaker and the Elves” is an affectionate dramatization of the classic Grimm’s fairy tale. Starting out nearly penniless during hard times, shoemaker Jacob and his wife Freda stick together and find out that with brave and cheerful hearts, riches may come in unexpected ways. This production features nine antique hand puppets that were created and used during the 1930s, including a monkey, a policeman, a mother and baby, a French artist and a circus clown.

The Milkweed Puppet Theater is a one-woman troupe consisting of Nancy Tyndall, a performer and artist educator from Unity, Maine. She has travelled throughout Maine for over 20 years, teaching puppetry workshops and entertaining audiences in schools, libraries and museums.

The puppets were created during the Great Depression and used to entertain audiences in the Appalachians and southeastern states. Sometimes the performers were paid with jars of jam and watermelons instead of cash. After a decade of service, the puppets were packed up and put into storage. Some 60 years later, they were given to Tyndall on the condition that the identity of their makers remained a secret. The puppets are now happy to be living life to the fullest, “out of the box.”

How did you do with naming that seasonal tune?

1. O Come All Ye Faithful,

2. Deck The Halls,

3. The Little Drummer Boy,

4. We Three Kings,

5. Let It Snow,

6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,

rford@gvnews.com