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12/25/2004: "Peaceful Was The Night"

It really was silent, the way it rarely gets in this day and age. The last worship service ended shortly after midnight, and the congregation dispersed surprisingly fast. And after that I was invited by two of the ushers to come visiting, and I sat in the first home for more than an hour, walked to the next, and passed the time there until three. I went for my own sake more than for that of the family; they looked like they could carry on until dawn. And I walked back to my car, down a street lined with luminaria, under a sky illuminated by a full moon, and there wasn't a sound but the sound of my footsteps. I got in the car, and slammed the door. I shivered.