Christmas Greetings from Windsor Park

By Tony Mussari
Copyright 2011
Mussari-Loftus Associates
The Face of America Project
www.faceofamericawps.com,
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"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” Charles Dickens

Moments to Remember

Kitch and I would like to share a few of the magic moments we experienced during our recent Face of America trip to North Plainfield, New Jersey. To be honest, these were four of the most wonderful days of the year. They were filled with learning moments, teaching moments, affirming moments and humbling moments.

The learning moments happened during a production of A Christmas Carol.  At one point in the play, 60 students, teachers and administrators were on the stage dramatizing the words of Charles Dickens.  They helped everyone in the audience better understand the spirit and the meaning of Christmas.  Kitch and I were exhilarated and rejuvenated by the profound words of Charles Dickens and the excellent performance of his play in North Plainfield.

If you have a minute, you can read about our evening with Dickens and how the play puts Christmas in perspective. You will find it at this secure address:

http://faceofamericawps.com/news/an-evening-with-dickens/

Another learning moment took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Kitch and I attended the Christmas Spectacular with Jacqueline and Tom Mazur. There were many aha moments during the stage show. The one that made the greatest impression on my heart involved a song Closer Than You Know. It provided the theme for a prophetic story about a frazzled mother who was looking for the perfect Christmas gift for her daughter.

This secure address will take you to an article about our Radio City Music Hall Christmas experience and some pictures we took of the building once heralded as the showplace of the nation:

http://faceofamericawps.com/news/a-day-in-new-york/

Teaching Moments

The teaching moments happened during and after two student assemblies at the North Plainfield Senior High School. I was given an opportunity to speak to more than 1,000 students before two separate screenings of our documentary Shanksville, PA: A Place of Transformation.  I did my very best to introduce the students to the Legacy of 2LT Emily Perez, the meaning of the word hero and the importance of community service.

If you are looking for something to counteract all of the negative messages we get in the news these days, the short video we produced about Emily’s Legacy and the two articles we wrote about the students we met in North Plainfield will lift your spirits and give you hope.

These links will take you to the short video and the articles:

http://faceofamericawps.com/video/emilys-legacy/

http://faceofamericawps.com/news/four-days-in-north-plainfield-nj-part-3/

http://faceofamericawps.com/news/four-days-in-north-plainfield-nj-part-4/

An Evening like No Other

On December 6, the North Plainfield school district hosted a community screening of our Shanksville documentary. It was an evening of special moments and unexpected surprises. In every respect of the word it was a perfect experience.

Kitch and I have tried to record the magic and the memories for you in this article:

http://faceofamericawps.com/news/four-days-in-north-plainfield-nj-part-5/

Living Christmas

Please accept these offerings as a Christmas present given from our hearts to everyone who has been kind and helpful to us during our Face of America journey across America and Kitch’s year-long battle with cancer.

If you are wondering why we continue to search for the Face of America on its best day despite all of the reversals, obstacles and setbacks, if you are wondering why we are determined to highlight stories of hope inspiration and service just like we did whhen we were producing Windsor park Stories, you will find our inspiration in the courageous life of 2LT Emily Perez, in the wonderful work being done in the North Plainfield School District and the encouraging words we receive from people like you who read our newsletter.

A few weeks ago, a person we admire and respect wrote these words after she read our November newsletter:

“Please keep on focusing on the positive people and happenings around us.  So much of what we hear and read focuses on the negative – your stories remind us that we really are surrounded by good, but the negative tends to drown it out.  Please keep giving good a voice!”

As Kitch and I look forward to Christmas and the New Year, the words of Charles Dickens fill our hearts with a desire to live the Christmas spirit every day of the year:

“I have always thought of Christmas time… as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.”

Merry Christmas, and may God bless us everyone.

Tony & Kitch Mussari
Producers
The Face of America Project
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