CROSSVILLE CHRONICLE Opinion   Dorothy Copus Brush "Random Thoughts" I sure will miss Up With People In my opinion the entertainment world is about to lose one of the few remaining wholesome shows for the entire family. For 35 years a group of young talented singers known as Up With People has delighted audiences around the world. Once accepted into the group, each performer paid a program fee of $14,300 to join one of the touring groups. Since 1965, when the group was organized, 19,000 young people have experienced the joys of using their vocal chords to entertain. The not-for-profit organization has depended on the fees paid by each performer plus the revenue from ticket sales, donations and selling merchandise to pay the bills. As competition increased over the years and loud, wild and startling musical acts became the shows that attracted audiences, the financial picture at Up With People has plummeted. Finally the losses have become too great and the program is being suspended at year's end. * * * Now for some good news. Take heart, ladies. The problem with ladybugs all over your walls may be nearing an end. In USA Today a tiny item warned folks in Colorado that the Asian lady beetles are spreading across their state. It noted that they are one of 80 species of ladybugs and that these insects were imported from Japan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1970s and '80s to fight crop-damaging insects in southern and coastal states. How well we remember, because that was about the time we started finding them crawling on walls, inside and out. The piece ended with, "They have since migrated west." We can hope they will all follow Horace Greeley's advice to aspiring young men, "Turn your face to the great West ..." * * * A few days ago I was browsing in the Christmas decorations department of a local store. I overheard a little guy about 5 years old ask his mother what that animal was as he pointed to a reindeer. She told him and his next question was the inevitable, "Why is it called that?" She replied, "I don't know." I kept thinking about that youngster's question, and hard as I have looked I have no answer to that question, but in my search I did learn more about this Arctic animal's part in our Christmas stories. Before there was a Santa the bearer of gifts was St. Nicholas, and he often rode a donkey. Then, in 1809, Washington Irving described Santa as riding a flying horse. Finally, in 1821, a poem appeared called the "Children's Friend" and a reindeer accompanied Santa Claus. Two years later came the classic "'Twas The Night Before Christmas," (a.k.a. "A Visit From St. Nicholas") and it added eight reindeer pulling Santa through the skies. Along the way I found a disturbing accusation. After all these years of Clement Moore being credited as the author of "A Visit From St. Nicholas," a recent finding is disputing that accepted fact. One historian states that from his research it was Henry Livingston of New York who wrote that annual favorite and not Moore. It just proves politics is not the only profession where disputes arise. Use your browser's back button to return to the previous page