I was a founding member of the Wilderness House Literary Retreat started by Steve Glines in Littleton, Mass. Although the retreat lasted only a few years I got to interview and write about a lot of interesting folks. Here is one of them.

Will Sayre aka Billy Carlos.

Our poet this week is Will Sayre aka Billy Carlos. He writes The News:

“I am a New England artist, born in Cambridge, MA. I spend my time writing, drawing, cooking, thinking, and playing music. Through my art I attempt to illuminate the limitations of boundaries imposed by upbringing and each person’s interpretation of their ultimately subjective life, as well as to demonstrate the connections we all share through similarly perceived experiences.”

A Christmas Poem

Author unknown

I have a list of folks I know, all written in a book

And every year when Christmas comes, I go and take a look,

And that is when I realize that these names are a part

Not of the book they are written in, but really of my heart.

On The Silly Side
By Jimmy Del Ponte

My sister and brother and me and my dad

Found the very best Christmas tree we ever had

It was so full and thick, and it was very heavy

It came home on the roof of Dad’s ’53 Chevy

I was worried that the tree may come loose tied up there

So I checked it, when we stopped for the train in the square

By Russell Allison

There isn’t greater fun in the cycle of life than reaping the benefits of handing down the mythology of Santa Claus to your kids and living vicariously through their excitement and joy and remembering your own when you were their age. There is no generation gap at this time of year, only a different perspective depending on whether you are young or old.

United States Marine Corporal Vin Dolan addresses the crowd at the Kiwanis Annual Tri-Club Meeting.

By William Tauro

The Somerville Kiwanis Club held its Annual Tri-Club Meeting last week with the Somerville Rotary Club and the Somerville Lions Club in attendance at the Mount Vernon Restaurant on Broadway.

Jimmy Tingle asks: “Got Democracy?” and hopes you will join him for this and more Q&A at The Arts at the Armory on December 29 and 31. – Photo by Jodi Hilton

By Sanjeev Selvarajah

Jimmy Tingle and his local comedic success story is coming back to Somerville to cement his roots. What is now called the Davis Square Theatre was home to Tingle’s OFF BROADWAY theatre, where Monsieur Tingle performed to packed houses as the millennium dawned and American pop culture spawned comedic social commentary like Colbert, Stewart, and Conan O’Brien.

Holiday themed books and prints are a specialty niche of collecting that can bring a new wealth of heartwarming fun to the collector.

By Kenneth Gloss

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the obvious perennial favorite for holiday books. However, many people might not realize that holiday-themed items can be exciting and rewarding choices, simply because there is a plethora of options available. That’s not to say 1834 Dickens classic isn’t wildly popular, even today. There are people who will come into the store, seeking a first edition and will spend upwards of $70 – $1000 for that particular volume. There are people who collect all versions of A Christmas Carol, whether it be all the different illustrated versions or all the different covers. There are literally thousands of unique versions of that Christmas classic, giving a Dickens collector years of hunting.

A Somerville man has been indicted on a charge of armed assault to murder in connection with a November 11 shooting that left a victim with life-threatening injuries, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.