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merry christmas 2010

Teach the Children

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out next to the fireplace.

“What are you doing?” I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement . . .

“TEACH THE CHILDREN!” I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said, “Teach the children!

Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten. “Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. “Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man’s thoughts turning toward heaven.”

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. “Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise.”

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. “Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness.”

Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. “Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection.”

He then pulled from his bag an ORNAMENT of himself. “Teach the children that I, Santa Claus, symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December.”

He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. “Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent the bloodshed by Him.

Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, “Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave his begotten son.” Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. “Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds’ crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother’s keeper.”

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. “Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior’s birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men.”

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL,. “Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.

Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, “Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship him, our LORD, our GOD.”

– Author Unknown

christmas through the eyes of a 5 year old

That right there is as lovely a Christmas tree as you’ll find anywhere, said the proud Da.

My daughter, the artist (she’s the child pictured in the middle on the ladder hanging ornaments) along with her two younger brothers (and their parents, not shown) wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. We have so much to celebrate because of your business and friendship, neither of which we take for granted.

Our family and all the joyous voices of audio’connell Voice Over Talent hope that you and your family have found and will continue to enjoy peace and happiness all year long.

Thank you.

– Peter K. O’Connell

so you think you’ve thought of every single place to slap a logo, huh?

OK then smarty pants, identify what THING these logos were placed on?

audio’connell in raleigh

Voice Talent Peter K. O'Connell in Raleigh with Debra Stamp and Donovan Corneetz

The only reason my friend Rowell Gorman gets a pass for blowing me off on my trip to Raleigh is because he was a good son, going to visit his Mom.

While I missed seeing him, I hope to see him at Faffcon in Atlanta in February. But two great voice talents, one an old friend and one a new friend were kind enough to spend some time with me in this fine city.

If you’ve not had a chance to work with the great Female Voice Over Talent Debra Stamp, well then it’s your loss cause just about everybody else in the world has. She’s an awesome voice artist and a good friend. She used to live in Buffalo, NY and then moved down to Raleigh – she likes it there quite a bit too!

Donovan Corneetz (aka “The Voice of Cool”) started in voice over about 5 years ago and is already doing promos for TBS and PBS among others. As unpretentious a man as you’ll ever meet, he was gracious enough to have breakfast with me during a snow an minor ice storm in the city. Carolinians do not know how to handle such weather – but the former New Yorker did and I was very honored he made the trip.

Great to see these talented friends.

guest voiceover blogging for pastorini-bosby talent

Sometimes I truly think I write this blog just for me in that I can’t fathom that there are people who want to read what I write let alone want to subscribe to the blog to get my stuff regularly.

But you folks DO exist and I am ever so grateful for that.

Even stranger over the years have been the requests from folks to have me serve as a guest blogger on their blogs. That to me is a real honor, more so than all the folks that redirect this blog to their sites, repurposing my content for their blogs – as long as they fully credit me, I don’t have a problem with that.

So when my agent Jenny Bosby from Pastorini-Bosby Talent sought me out to write a blog post for their site, I thought that was just great…and a bit of pressure too.

But here is a link to the post which I hope you’ll read and then leave a comment on their blog.

Thanks.

bid on the chance to have joe cipriano, paul pape, and george delhoyo be your personal man servants

Do I know how to write a headline or what?!

No I’m not pimping out Joe, Paul, George or any of the former Beatles (ba-dum-bump) but each of these three amazing voice talents ARE donating three unique voice over experiences for you to bid on during the The Screen Actors Guild Awards Auctions which benefit the SAG Foundation.

According to my friend Michael Woodley, the auction began on December 10th and runs through December 17, 2010. The SAG Awards Auctions benefit the SAG Foundation to help make possible the Foundation’s public children’s literacy programs: BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) and Storyline Online. The auction also supports Foundation programs providing emergency relief to SAG members in economic distress, video and audio preservation of the creative legacy of SAG members, scholarships for performers and their children, emergency funds for members with catastrophic illnesses and The Actor’s Center.

For the voice over talent in your life, these would be three pretty cool gifts to receive from three very generous guys. Grab your check book or credit card and visit the auction web site to place your bid today.