Bite Size :009 - Christmas '24, "Noel" by J.R.R. Tolkien

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Bite Size.

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Welcome to another episode of Chewing the Fat. It's a bite size episode for Christmas 2024! Thank you so much for tuning in... downloading the episode. It has been a year, let me tell you, and I am so thankful for you for listening to the podcast, for supporting the podcast by buying me a coffee at ChewingTheFatBR.com, or buying some of the schwag out of the store, or just sending me notes on Instagram that you got something out of the podcast, or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, or a five-star rating, wherever you listen to the podcast. I cannot tell you thank you enough for that.

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The reason I started this podcast was because I wanted folks to know that they're not alone. And you know, maybe I was talking to myself a lot too. Maybe I needed to know that I wasn't alone as well. So thank you. Thank you for being there and thank you for reminding me that I am not alone either. I really do appreciate it. And speaking of the podcast and you know why it got started.

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You know, the I tell folks all the time the impetus of the podcast was the quote from J.R.R. Tolkien from The Hobbit. It's when Gandalf is talking to some of the other elves about why he chose Frodo to be a part of this, be a part of this band.

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And the quote is the one that I've got on the t-shirts and on the journals On the website it's "I have found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." That's what this podcast was meant to be a small act of kindness and love to help keep the darkness at

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Bay and I hope it has been that for you. I have one more full episode that will be coming up this Thursday after Christmas. I'll be dropping that with my new friend Katie Jostock. I'm excited for you to hear that she is a voice actress and just got some great perspective on mental health and staying positive and I can't wait for you to hear that. But the thing is this is the Christmas episode and as I am wont to do

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I am going to read a poem for you for the holiday. And this one was new to me. It's actually kind of new to the world. It sat around for 80 years. It is another J.R.R. Tolkien poem that was found just a few years ago after sitting unread for almost 80 years. But it's called Noel. And this is my small Christmas gift to you.

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Grim was the world and grey last night. The moon and stars were fled. The hall was dark without song or light. The fires were fallen dead. The wind in the trees was like to the sea, and over the mountains' teeth. It whistled bitter-cold and free.

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as a sword leapt from its sheath.

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The Lord of Snows upreared his head, his mantle long and pale. Upon the bitter blast was spread, and hung o'er hill and dale. The world was blind, the boughs were bent, all ways and paths were wild. Then the veil of cloud apart was rent, and here

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was born a child.

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The ancient dome of heaven's sheer was pricked with distant light. A star came shining white and clear, alone above the night. In the dale of dark in that hour of birth, one voice on a sudden sang,

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then all the bells in heaven and earth together at midnight rang. Mary sang in this world below. They heard her song arise, or mist, and o'er mountain snow, to the walls of Paradise. And the tongue of many bells was stirred in heaven's towers to ring, when the voice of mortal maid was heard, that was Mother

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of Heaven's King. Glad is the world, and fair this night, with stars about its head. And the hall is filled with laughter, and light, and fires are burning red. The bells of Paradise now ring with bells of Christendom, and Gloria, Gloria, we will sing.

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that God on earth is come.

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And that's it. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. I hope you have the best time surrounded by the people and things that you love.

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this holiday season. And again, another episode coming up and then I'm going to be off for the month of January on a little hiatus and then we'll be back with season number five and episode 100 coming up in February. Thank you again so much for being here and for supporting this podcast by buying me a coffee at ChewingTheFatBR.com. But until next time, I cannot wait till we have a chance to sit a spell and chew the fat.