Here’s a little of how Alison Granucci describes his poetry on www.blueflowerarts.com: “Through the observation and translation of often unassuming and silent moments, the poetry of Li-Young Lee gives clear voice to the solemn and extraordinary beauty found within humanity. … Anyone who has seen him read will add that Lee is also one of the finest poetry readers alive.”

Blogger's Note: If today's column brings to mind your own holidays of long ago, I invite you to write about them in the comments.

I can picture it still, the spindly pine Christmas tree draped in tinsel and loaded with decorations in a corner of the farmhouse living room.

It was probably Christmas Eve, which was when my father, guided by a sense of tradition, liked to cut the tree, bring it in from the bottomland and watch as we decorated it.

Certainly, there was a blaze crackling in the fireplace.

At this point my siblings and I were in our pajamas and very excited about the coming morning.

I would sit cross-legged on the floor, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, gazing up at the glistening beacon of another world.

Earlier that day, my father - a tall bearded professor ...

John Leschak, the Lake Weir High School band director, sent an e-mail about the band’s Chicago trip. Here’s a portion of the letter:

“The performance trip was a success. Our Lake Weir High Band made us proud in their Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade performance. We received many compliments during the parade and throughout the trip. Lake Weir was the 12th unit in the parade with a 32 degree step-off temperature.  There were 24 bands, and the first band was from GA with 350 members ...