Every kid
Down in Kerns-ville
Liked the Holidays a lot...
But the Krinch,
Who lived in the Woods behind Kernsville,
Did NOT!
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The Krinch hated the Holidays! The whole Holiday season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be because he didn't have any friends
Seeing friends get together drives him mad to the end.
He hated when caring and friendship filled the air,
All that he wanted was gloom and despair.
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So that friendless old Krinch made himself a vow
He vowed he would ruin Kernsville's Holidays somehow!
He took all of his garbage and old rotting food,
And mixed it together with his foul, nasty mood.
He boiled it and funneled the smoke from the air,
'Til he filled up his attic with a cloud of despair.
Then the Krinch brought the cloud to the school down below,
And went back to his shack to enjoy the show.
'Twas 5 days before Christmas, sometime in the morning,
When I got to Kernsville, showing up without warning.
I sang to myself a Holiday song,
'Til I walked in the door
And knew something was wrong!
I thought to myself, "Oh No! Not again!
This hasn't happened since I don't know when.
I remember a day, though the details are hazy,
Two years ago,
When Kernsville had gone crazy!"
All through the school was a horrible scene
No one would listen and everyone screamed
The nicest of kids had turned nasty and mean
What relief to find out that it was just a dream.
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But this time was different, this wasn't a riot,
I heard not a sound, it was perfectly quiet!
"Too quiet," I thought. "Where was the noise
of questions and answers from bright girls and boys
or the laughs during recess as each child enjoys
swinging, or playing with balls and with toys?"
The musical rooms
were all silent and still.
No playing or singing.
No sounds, sweet or shrill.
There were no announcements,
not one teacher talked
The halls were all empty,
not a child ran or walked
Not even the tiniest squeak from some chalk.
"No way!" I said, "I know I'm just sleeping
and sometime real soon my alarm will start beeping."
I pinched myself twice, and sat down to wait,
but slowly realized, "I'm already awake!"
This really was happening! They all sat in a trance,
No one would stand up and shout, sing or dance.
But the worst part of all was the look on each face
Like joy, love, and hope had all been erased,
And a big, empty "nothing" was left in it's place.
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"I can't do this alone, I can't help them all."
So I went right away to the new principal.
It had gotten him too, he just stared into space,
But I knew I could help him, I saw in his face
That his love for the students could not be erased.
It was easy to wake him, I just had to say,
"Your students all need you" and he woke right away.
It took less than a second, not even a fraction
Till he realized what happened, and sprang into action!
"Early this morning, a dark cloud of despair
had seeped through the windows and darkened the air.
It touched every person, big, small, or other,
and took away all of their care for each other!
And when nobody cares, then nobody hopes,
and nobody smiles, and nobody jokes.
Nothing has meaning as you go day to day,
When friendship and caring are taken away.
He said, "This can't happen, these kids are the best,
Whether on the computer or studying for tests,
When one child has trouble, there's help from the rest.
There's RAK-Tracks galore, every day more and more,
Their care for each other CAN'T be gone out the door.
Each one has it in them, it's part of their core.
They already know it, there's no need to teach it.
It's part of their lives, it won't help to preach it.
It's still in their hearts. WE JUST NEED TO REACH IT!"
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"One-by-one will not work, there's too many to find.
We must wake them together, all at one time."
As we thought how to do it, he shouted, "I know!
We'll use the TVs and the Portable Studio!"
He got Mrs. Nagy, who also woke easy.
She found Mrs. Moyer, entranced near a PC,
Then roused Miss Zeroka, Mrs. Krem and Mrs. Trego
And came back to tell Mr. G.: "It's a GO!"
He said, "This will be tough, we're in for a fight.
We'll go get it started, set the cameras and lights.
The right person can cut through this despair like a knife.
You go find a student with a heart full of LIFE!"
We needed the right kid for this trance to be busted,
Who everyone knew, and everyone trusted.
I knew who to pick, who just couldn't loose,
The dancing announcer from "Kernsville TV News"!
I knew he had heart. I knew he had spirit.
I knew he would reach everyone who could hear it.
I knew they would listen to whatever he'd say,
I knew he'd save his friends here at Kernsville today!
It was easy to wake him, I know him quite well,
It didn't take a "Bang!" or a "Bong!" or a bell.
I hugged him, spoke softly, barely a whisper,
"I need you,
friends need you,
we all need you,
Christopher."
That's all that it took, the trance fled to thin air,
Then he gathered some friends to help fight the despair.
J.R. and Matt on the camera and sound,
And Chad to stand guard if the Krinch came back around!
The studio was ready, the music was playing.
Chris jumped in the chair, started dancing and swaying.
He looked in the camera. With a smile you can't fake
Shouted, "Friends! Help each other!
All of Kernsville awake!"
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Misses Mancke, Bartolacci,
Kovack and Gaston
Started conducting,
though each was alone.
It didn't matter,
the spirit was there,
Hope's silent symphony
filled up the air.
Allison found pencils and tapped out a rhythm
Awakening others to the music within them.
Michael fingered the air, like his flute was in his hand,
Percussion banged the beat for the Kernsville Air Band!
Anthony, Benjamin, Steven, and Zach
Slid unseen trombone slides in, out, and back.
One thing that will wake you when you're entranced, all alone,
Is the sound coming out of a good slide trombone!
Kathryn and Andrew bowed invisible strings,
All the string players strung the melody on magical wings.
Ben pictured his alto. It was working, no doubt.
Tenors Laura, Josh and Greg helped the spirit spread out.
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The flutists all fluted,
The brass players tooted,
Clarinets played harmonies,
not a single reed was muted.
The saxes fingered madly,
Every band member played gladly,
And the Krinch in his shack
felt more badly and badly!
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The students who practiced the chimes and the bells
Heard the ringing get louder in swoops and in swells,
A silent bell choir grew strong in the air.
As strings, drums, brass and woodwinds chased the despair.
Trisha felt the music and sang a sweet song
Ryan, Seth and Melanie helped the song move along.
The whole Chorus joined them, alone and in pairs,
Mr. K added his voice, coming up from downstairs.
Just down the hall Nicole's feet had to dance.
They danced and they danced their way out of the trance!
She danced 'cross the classroom, gave Mr. Quinn a poke,
Who started to smile as he thought of a joke.
Nicole would not allow the despair to destroy her
She danced through the halls and found Jordan to join her.
The taps, leaps, and jumps forced the sadness to fade,
In minutes they woke the entire 3rd grade!
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Throughout the school each found their own way.
Some pictured the sports that they most like to play.
Andrew and Sara had their hockey and skates
Many recalled favorite Jelly Bean Day race.
Collin woke ready to fight that old Krinch
He knew he could count on his friends in a pinch.
Matthew drew portraits of teachers and friends.
We all thought of friends we would keep to the end.
The despair cloud was finished! The last trace was gone.
And out in the woods the old Krinch heard the song,
And cryed when he realized his plan had gone wrong.
Friendship and caring could not be stopped!
Faith, hope and love will never be dropped!
All of his work and his planning had flopped!
So the nasty old Krinch went back into his shed,
Turned out the lights, covered his head,
And crawled under the blanket to spend a hundred years in bed!
Back at the school everyone was awake.
There were lots of high-fives, hugs and handshakes.
The strong bond of friendship each person would take
As they boarded the buses, and left for winter break.
I smiled as I watched them, a tear filled my eye.
They did it together, each girl and each guy
Found the spirit within them to care for the other,
And the will to be strong and to help one another.
The school was now empty, the lights had gone dim,
But the spirit of friendship still flowed strong within.
That cloud won't return to the Kernsville School Zone.
My kids grabbed my hands and said,
"Dad, let's go home."
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It's 5 days before Christmas, 6 days until Kwanzaa,
Two weeks ago was the Celebration of Hanukkah.
Whatever you celebrate, whatever the reason,
May Peace, Joy and Love stay with you this season.
Be kind to your friends and the kid you just met,
That new kid may one day be your best friend yet.
We all have inside us the power to give,
The power to help, and the power to live.
To every person at Kernsville, the teachers and staff,
Make these Holidays the best, filled with life, love and laughs.
To all of the students, my friends far and near:
Happy Holidays To All!
Have A Fun Filled New Year!
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