Write your own poem, Pam.

 

One of my fondest childhood Christmas memories is my mother helping me to memorize Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas," better known as "The Night Before Christmas." But not even Mr. Moore's brilliant portrayal of Santa Claus is safe from the revisionists.

 

Pamela McColl of Vancouver, Canada, has published her own version of Moore's poem. She's offended by the lines, "The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath," so she has deleted them. She says those lines teach children to smoke. It sounds to me like she's been smoking something. On the cover of her book, she claims it has been edited by Santa Claus for the benefit of the children of the 21st Century.

 

If Ms. McColl thinks she can improve upon Clement Moore's masterpiece, she should write her own poem instead of monkeying with his. And she certainly shouldn't have the gall to blame her own stupidity on Santa Claus.

 

"Pitching of Santa's pipe raises clatter." The Dallas Morning News; December 12, 2012; p. 8A.