Across the frigid campus of Cornell
There swirls a wind that brings the ice and snow
And tweaks the nose and chills the hands of us
Who hurry by in swift pursuit of fame
Of fortune, or of academic grace,
We do not care what season is on us,
So occupied we are with bits and bytes.
Let's stop and scan a few of winter's dreams:
See slender skaters in a silver scene,
Ranging and revolving, round and round;
Imagine children bundled fat on sleds
Full of laughter, bounding down the hill;
Holly mistletoe, a yule log lit.
Ah, these are dreams of Christmas long ago.
And what we want is something bright, right now !
A new beginning is upon us all.
M. Stuart Lynn has drawn to him our best
For counsel - Gordon and Agelia both.
He's marshalled forces, set directions firm.
But, hark ! what carol breaks upon our ears !
If that's the new, here comes an older sightMatrix cells, matrix cells
Matrix all the way !
Oh what fun it is to ply
Technology this way !Gliding through the year,
Collaborating well,
Oh what fun it is to mess
With someone else's cell !With workstations deluxe
And all of us perplexed
We're wondering, as well we might
What is coming NeXT.Matrix cells, matrix cells
Matrix all the way !
Oh what fun it is to ply
Technology this way !
Save your disks from virus folly
Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
It will drive you off your trolley
Fa-la-la-la-la -- la-la-la-la
UNIX systems and Sun Stations
Fa-la-la-la --la-la-la-la
Are not safe from machinations
Fa-la-la-la-la -- la-la-la-la
Here Santa Claus jumped up to see the clock.
"My gracious," he cried out, "it's time to go."
"I have not mentioned some of you...for you"
"There will be special christmas joy"
With wonderful brightness in his eyes, he leapt
Into his sleigh and cried to Donner and Blitzen
And was gone
The celebrating throng continued in
Their festive merriment, and did not sense
The presence of some ghosts who hovered o'er
To sprinkle blessings down - there's Irv and Ken,
And Sharon, Kate MGregor, Oh, and Carl
And Steven Linda Hoos, and Cindy, too.
Judy Buck and Steve LaLonde within
The ambient magic of this special night.
As Santa's sleigh soared out of sight above
An angel's choir began to sing this song:
God rest you merry technocrats
Let nothing mar your code
Backup your disks and watch your networks
Don't forget your node.
And save us all from viruses
That may come down the road
Oh-oh protocols of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
Oh-oh protocols of comfort and joy!
At last, at last this doggerel is done
As Tiny Tim said, "Bless us, every one !"
Now Christmas spirit's beginning to lift us,
But how can we get him to smile and be-gift us ?
Joy has a thought, "Let's bring him by VAX."
"No," says Leanna, "Let's do it by Fax."
But says Steve Worona, "If you want to see 'em,
Just wait a few minutes and I'll FTP 'em."
Dan says by CMS, Dave says by LAN.
By now the discussion is quite out of han'.
Don't we have something, isn't there some way ?
It needn't be clever - even a dumb way.
Hey, look what I've found, on this dusty old shelf
It's just what we need for our Jolly Old Elf.
It's twisted and strange and bent and confused
But it's spacious and slippery and hardly been used.
It hasn't got handles, it hasn't got feet
But it's loaded with people and I think it's neat.
What's this on the label, all musty and dank,
"The Matrix" it says, "Please just turn the crank"
We cranked on the crank, heard a tinkling of bells
And here comes old Santa, down through the cells:
"Ho, Ho, Liz Colucci and Robert Mindel,
"Merry Christmas to George, LaVerne, and Sandi as well.
"And to Stuart, Agelia, and Lori, of course,
"Watch out, my dear Libby, I'm sliding with force
"Greetings, Surinder, Ms Murphy and Jill,
"Here I come, James, two Ronalds, on still
"Past Kathee and Nancy and A. Hubberman
"Past Norman and JR, past Michael and Ann
"I slide past Tom Dimock, dispensing my cheer
"To Mark and Doug Hornig and everyone here.
"The cells of this matrix are quite slippery, you see
"Slick as a chimney, quite suited to me.
"Hello to Bob Tucker and to John Rudan
"Im sure they've been good ...as good as they can.
"And Gene Caraccilo and good Bill Biata
"For them I sing carols, perhaps a cantata.
"Good wishes to Larry, but specially to Steve,
"I give laughter and love and peace as I leave.
"To Wendy and Gary and Mike H. and Mark
"I leave a fine candle to brighten the dark
"And now on to Barbara's dazzling crew
"Of Chris, Dan and Kim, and other ones, too
"Past them to networks and Alan Personius
"With Gary and Brian and others harmonious
"To clever Dick Cogger and Karen and Gail
"To whom we run yelling when our networks fail
"I'm slipping, I'm sliding, and where's all the soot
"And who is the culprit who's holding my foot ?
"I'm sliding past Jan and Debra and Shirley
"The path through the matrix is crooked and curly.
"Here's Cynthia, Charlotte, Sharon and Wendy
"Puzzling what's novel and what is just trendy.
"Here's Gordon and Bob, here's Helen and Jim,
"Hartley and John, let's not forget him.
"And Richard and Bruce, and finally Willie
"As I tumble down laughing and fall willy-nilly.
"Chris Stuart's at work, he's quite a LAN-joe
"Except when he's out there playing his banjo.
"Tom Young and Tom Hughes and Steven and Laurie
"I can't fit everyone in, I'm really sorry.
"But I won't leave out Mike, Cyber-flier supreme
"A member of Geri's remarkable team.
"What's this I've slipped into, Service's niche ?
"Legends are made here, with nary a glitch
"Whose clients need help and sometimes need babying
"Whose leader's none other than gentle Ruth Sabean !
"For those who assist us, whose specialty's carin'
"To Sherry my greetings, to Tammy and Sharon
"To Terry and Frank, to Sharon and Jan
"As happy a season as ever we can
"And to Amy and Vicki, to Shirley and Tonya
"I send you warm greetings, peace be upon ya'
"And Karen and Steph and Marty and Chris
"And Joan and Beverly, all part of this.
"Maureen and Michelle, and, of course, Shari
"And Peggy and Mark, and, of course, Larry.
"To Steve and to Billie, to Judy and Joe
"To Gene and to Peggy, and more as I go
"To Donna, and Becky, Louise and Jose
"And Kristi and Tim, and patient Lyn Derr
"And Terry Beloin, especially her.
"Merry Christmas to them -- Merry Christmas to John
"I must stop here, though the list just goes on
"If you were not mentioned, my list was quite long
"I leave you my music, I leave you a song.
"I leave you the splendor of seeing a star.
"I give you the gift of just what you are.
"And I will be back next year on this day.
"(And please get your chimney repaired, by the way !)"
The wind blows brisk, the air is sharp and chill
It is December once again and time
To wish the merry folk of CIT
The best of Christmas Pudding and delight,
Push back the perilous shadows where
Our ancient adversaries lie in wait
And flood with Christmas light our handsome tree.
The star upon our tree is Stuart Lynn
(But be forewarned, that Blanchard guy might just
Invert our non-Egyptian pyramid.)
Lori, Judy and Agelia, too
Are near the tip, and after them LaVerne,
Leanna, Judith and Elizabeth
Cindy, Bob and Kathleen S are there
Sandi and Sally, too - all ornaments
To grace our C.I.Tree. Its leafy boughs
Support Dave Koehler and also Mary Anne
Libby, Joyce and Stephanie Orak
Christmas globes or red and green and blue
Arthur, Claudia and Rita, too
With Randy, Florence, Tom and Debi Friends
Icicles hung upon the tree with care
Elizabeth and Stephanie and Steve,
Upon another branch is Bill Borgida
And Steve and Al and Tim and Cindy, too
And Jane and Dick and Marilyn and Jill
And shining on our tree Surinder is
And Dennis, Gita, - and Jolene is there -
Glowing with Christmas ambience and light.
JR, Claude and good Jim Quiggle smile,
Three wooden soldiers hanging from the tree
And near them, Ron Babuka, Kathee Shaff
And Nancy, Alan, Gary, Mike and Ann
Ron Parks among them, lit with Christmas lights.
Upon another bough, extended wide
Are James Storelli, Ann and Janet, Bill
Elizabeth and Dean and Michael Greene.
See how they grace our pseudo enterprise.
And decked in holly, Diane Kubarek
Along with Stephen Barrett and Michele;
Kevin Hufford rests upon a bough
Quite near him, Mike. But on a branch alone
Tom Dimock's cohorts gleam - Kevin, Chris and Steve
Around the tree are Mark and Frederick Jones
And Donna Taber, too, and Keith and Tom
And Thomas Weyer. And there. Two glowing gems
Pete Bosanko and Doug Hornig shine.
All alone is Lynne Personius
A dignified Pickwickian figurine
Is John Rudan with Bob and Angella and Sue
Accompanied by Gene and Dave. But lo,
Three wise men riding from the East are here
And they are Bill and Ben and Ken, and near
Is Larry Robinson and Jean Miller, too.
Following in their wake are Ron, Maureen
And Jennifer and Pat and Pete and Jay
And with them Dan and John and Melanie
And Larry Thorpe and Eric Nicoson
Silver icicles upon the tree -
Are Cathy-Jo, and Mary Doland, Angela
Step back and see our Christmas tree adorned.
Swathed in lights and rich in ornaments
There's Sheila Patterson, and on each side
Are Tom and Mark, and John stands waiting by
Charlie Evans, Wendy, Mike and Mark
And Gary Buhrmaster grace this noble tree
And Lenny, Paul, Melinda, Mike,
And Richard Alexander with the rest
This jolly Christmas ornament is Jim
Doolittle, with him Irene and Angela
Shirley, Donna, and Louise, and there
Spangling the tree in rich array is Ron
With Sel and Mark, Theresa, Walt and Carl.
Linda Jaynes and Bob Barrick look out
Through branches heavy with ornament now
Charles and Carolyn and James are here
With Peggy Roberts and Pete Baker, too.
And now the lights - yellow, red and green
Are draped across the branches carefully
A flashing light is Barbara's sterling group
With Dan and Kim, and Chris and Joy and George.
Flashing too is Bob Cowles' group of Nick
And Andy, and Ken Pendell. Now there's Posai
With Joan and Jesse gleaming on the tree.
What's this? Fibre optics on our tree?
That's David Lambert's doing, you can bet.
And on this slender line are Lillian,
Martyne and James and Katherine and Tammy
By Steve Worona's side is Silvia
And Michael, Assaji and also Jeff
Alan Personius shines both bright and clear
As do Bart, and Thomas Payne and all
And Ross -with Charles, Tom Theimer and Doug
Brian Wilcox reflects the Christmas light
With Gary Domke, Bill and Jon alight.
Leisha, Mark and David join the flood
Of Christmas luminescence on the tree.
John and Juan and Scott and Don are there.
There's Roger, Craig and Cliff and Guy and Paul.
Some newer ornaments with store-bought shine.
What's this, three older ornaments than most
I think they tumbled off in former years
But now are back to bring us greater joy.
Mariann and George and Ken -welcome to our tree.
And Jim and Scott and Dan and Jeff, of course.
A special light from Shirley Kupst,
An inner glow - that warms those all around
With her Karen, Bruce and Judy Ross
And here's Dick Cogger on the tree at last
With Larry Chace, Kevin, Rich and John
Another Christmas light, Patricia Searles,
Light up our cheerful tree, with her Jolene
Jan Brown, Debra, Nadine and Kathy Drake,
Along with Kathy Parker, Judy and Diane
Jan and Shelly, Christine and Kelly Veit
All make our season here more beautiful.
More ornaments - faces, eyes and hearts
Karen Smith and Graham and Robert Oleson
Bob and Dave, Kim and Nadine are here
Jeff Wilber shines with all the season's cheer
And with him Kathy, Ken and Don and Scott;
And Wayne and Cyle and Bob, Jamie and Jim
With Jeffrey, Felix, Gary and Ed.
How many ornaments can one tree hold?
There're more, there're more, we mustn't stop just now
Now good-hearted Larry's on the tree,
Beside him, taking notes, is Sherry Wood
And Carrie, too, Andrew and Louise,
With Charlotte, Cynthia's on a branch and gives
A certain class, a fine artistic touch
Paul and Gail and Sharon, too, reflect the glow.
Here's Gordon and Bobbie, with Oliver and Jim
And Jennifer, John and Helen Russler, too
Bob Mosher's next, then Adam Quiggle, there.
Our C.I.Tree looks better than before.
Let's puts Bob Pantle right there. That's good.
And add Rich Cortright, Willy B. and Cay.
Bruce Bowman's next, then Hartley and John DeV.
Bruce Boda, Michael and Melissa light right up
And Marsha, Dave and Dick reflect their glow.
Tom Young is hung with careful skill, next to
Tom Hughes and both enhance the stately tree.
Chris Stuart's picking out a Christmas song,
Steve LaSala's glad the word begins with C
And Laurie Collinsworth, and Stephen E.
Illumine with silver the delicate boughs of the tree.
Upon another branch is Geri Gay
With Steve and Frank, with Mike and Michael T.
The brightest light in services is Ruth
By her side and shining brightly, too
Are Nancy, Sharon, Tammy - Jeanne from Sales, of course
With Peggy and Judy, Chris H and Chris J all there
Kaila, Vicki and Bev, Patricia and Stephanie, too
Emitting a glow and making this wondrous to see
Karen, Diane, and Shari and May and Marty
Kristi, Maureen, Michelle and Ed are here,
And Peggy Engles bright in red and gold.
From Jan, Teresa, Adrian and Geoff,
A special glow - Cecelia, Sharon and Frank,
An intricate and subtle gleaming, too.
From Carol Lambert, Billie G. and Steve
From Graham, Veronica, Paula, Gene and Anne
And gentle Peg, whose humor lights the day
With Bonnie, Brian - Barbara, sparkle, too.
Now near the bottom of the tree at last
Obscured by all that glory overhead
Is Donna's band of User Service Folks,
Lynn and Tim and Kristi chinning forth
And Becky Allen pulling classes from the hat;
Jose and Dora - best consultants of them all.
Instructors Carlos and Elizabeth
With Peggy, Cynthia and Terry, too
Hand from the boughs in colorful array.
Some other baubles, too, adorn
Our dazzling and terrific tree: Lisa,
Alex, and Vinay. And Wagner who's in great demand;
Karen on the second floor - and on..
Now we stand back to view our C.I.Tree
And look in rapt amazement at our crew -
What wealth of human grace and stamina
What riches here in sense and competence.
What dedication firm to helping those
Who come in technologic disarray.
And now we button up most carefully
Against the coldness of the night and praise
Colleagues, associates and friends held dear
As we with loving care and hope admire
The most glorious Christmas Tree there ever was.
The trees are skeletons along the road
The sun dies early in the chill of day
In one great crash dive on the western hill.
A few flakes fall and we all leave for home
Past warm and yellow windows on the way
To find Menorahs or our Christmas trees.
We huddle in our little crowded space
And, trying to deflect the glancing cold
Give one another cheer and so dispute
The soft and flat finality of snow.
The warmth within is warmth enough, respect
And love for those we cherish and revere.
This Season's Greetings card's from all of us
To all of us: a handshake and a hug.