Last chance!
This is our last entry in the Guess the Christmas Carol series—can you tell what Christmas carol is represented by the photo above? (If you don’t get this one, you are probably a Scrooge!)
Hurry up and email your guess to LifelinesPublishing@gmail.com, for your last chance at Christmas fame and glory.
Last week
Last week’s Christmas carol was “What Child Is This?” If you’re looking for a literal answer to the question as it applies to the photo, it’s “I don’t know.” I took that shot many years ago when I lived in Germany for two months. I was walking around Tuebingen one afternoon, taking random photos of daily life, and this small German child kicked a ball across my path and ran over to retrieve it. I took his picture, and he ran off. That’s what child this is.
Last call
These are the first three people whose speed, cleverness, and persistence earned them a spot in this week’s final list of winners:
1. Deana Wilson was not only the very first responder, she was also correct! Her winning answer arrived in my inbox at 6:49 in the blessed A-M last Wednesday. Deana is the Community Manager at Holland Home, where my grandfather now lives. (Go ahead and “like” their Facebook page!) I have worked with Deana and her team professionally for a few years and have always had a great deal of respect for them. Now that Gramp lives there, my interactions with them are a little more personal, and my respect has only grown. It’s good to know that Gramp is in a safe place, surrounded by good people. Plus, now that Deana has won this edition of Guess the Christmas Carol, I have undeniable proof that she is exceptionally intelligent, even at the earliest hours of the morning. Congratulations, Deana!
2. Nancy Rejholec returns this week as the second correct responder. She emailed LifeLines six hours after the post went live, and there were 17 incorrect guesses between Deana’s and Nancy’s. Nancy was kind enough to include this note in her email: “This is really fun for me. It has given me something new to look forward to each week. I have always enjoyed Guessing-What-This-Is challenge games and puzzles. Have you ever thought of doing this other times of the year? I vote “‘Yes.'” Nancy, I’m not going to make any promises about doing games like this throughout the year—with the clever bunch of subscribers I have, it’s a lot of work to figure out ways to keep challenging you! But I appreciate the encouragement, and I will see what I can do. Anyway, congratulations, Nancy!
3. Michelle Lagestee (with brainstorming help from Sally Rock) did finally arrive at the correct answer—after four attempts. The email conversation went something like this:
10:32am – “Oh Melanie, you drive me crazy with this game every week! Good thing on I’m off on Wednesdays LOL. Is it ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’?”
1:42pm – “How many chances to do I get to guess before you tell me I got the right answer? Is it ‘Angels We Have Heard On High’?”
8:50pm – “Sally and I have been discussing this tonight as a team, and this is driving us crazy! Is it ‘I Wonder As I Wander’?”
And finally, 10:56pm – “Ok, I am not going to sleep tonight! Is it ‘What Child Is This?’!?”
Was it unfair for me to give Michelle the impression that none of her first three guesses were correct? If so, I apologize to the dozens of you who were so quick to send in a wrong answer and did not receive any encouragement to keep trying.
Speaking of wrong answers, by week’s end, I still had two vacant slots in the top five. So I’ve chosen the two responders who had the good humor to poke fun of last week’s use of a “lesser known” Christmas carol. (Not “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” but the lesser known “Emmanuel.”)
4. Jim Grutzius, a repeat winner from Week 2, emailed a reply that cracked me up immediately and continued to make me laugh at random moments throughout the day: “Melanie, I am guessing ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ I am hoping there is not a lesser known song called ‘Hear.’ Love playing this game!” Jim is an accountant-type person who also is involved in sports and youth ministries at Living Springs Community Church. Congratulations, Jim!
5. Amanda Cleary sent in this response: “Hmm, I’m going to guess ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ My second guess would be the less popular ‘Do You See This Christmas M&M I Stuck in My Ear, Mom?'” Amanda also included a link to some interesting history of “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” so I give her extra credit for that. Amanda is a talented writer with many beautiful things to say. She says many of them at her blog, Namasteawhile. Congratulations, Amanda!
Last list
Next week’s post will include the (obvious) answer to this week’s challenge, along with a list of all the winners, including the holly jolly heroes who have won their very own LifeLines Story Starter Kit!
Thanks for playing, everyone! And have a Merry Christmas!