A Christmas Carol

Last night we got a Christmas tree, so I decided it was time to read A Christmas Carol again. Probably because of this, I had a strange dream...

I ran my own pie diner (thanks to watching The Waitress), and just outside of town was a farm. I decided to go there to get fresh produce, and on my way I met an old man who warned me, "When you get there, you will see two unhappy people working, for they are only two there. When you ask them their names, one will say, 'Hunger', and the other, 'Want.' They will not be friendly, but they will give you what you pay for and nothing more."

All this was just as the old man had described. When the time came to get more produce, I went out to the same farm but was surprised to find two different people working. Still, when I asked their names the response was the same: "Hunger", said the wrinkly man in the straw hat and overalls; "Want", said the wrinkly lady in the sun dress and apron. Confused, I reported this to the old man when I got back to town. "True," he said, "you will see many different people there, but really there are only two; those who are hungry, and those who are in want. The further into the farm you go, you will meet people who like to call themselves by different names. For example, 'The one who pretends to be happy by spending all his money on flashy things', or 'The one who celebrates his unhappiness by flaunting academic cynicism." No matter, there are still only two people, for all the unhappiness in the world comes from either hunger or want. Those who are hungry may not be hungry for food, but they are hungry for love, for attention, for meaning. Those who are in want may have all the things they could ever need, but are still wanting for what others have, or wanting for what they cannot have. Those who are hungry for food may be driven to do things they would never otherwise dream of doing; those who are wanting for physical means and dignity may no longer act with means and dignity. Yet those who are hungry for only food and wanting for only material things you will not find there."

And so this Dickens-like imagery impressed itself very clearly upon my sleeping consciousness just in time for the Christmas season to begin. It is not revolutionary, I realize, but it is interesting, isn't it?