t And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. All day and much of yesterday I have been watching the tiny lowlands parking lot out my windows. Here on this rather tiny island, Christmas trees are for sale as the biggest fundraiser of the school year. Mothers and fathers collect monies and trim down the trunks with a hand saw. Children run about in the park yelling and laughing... they don't feel the cold but there is a rusty old metal burn barrel with a smoky fire to warm up chilly hands. Earlier I saw a man with a big white beard, just like Santa stuff a big tree into the back of his white SUV, climb into the drivers side, and head toward home with the back open and