On Dec. 26, 2004, a fire in the sanctuary of my church, First Presbyterian of Gallatin, came within minutes of destroying the venerable structure.

It seemed then, and seems now, that grace kept if from ruin. At the time, some believed we'd patch it up and be back in within 90 to 120 days, despite the loss of our organ, and significant damage to much of the building. Fortunately, the congregation decided to look ahead and not just repair the damage but renovate the sanctuary to last another century plus.

On Dec. 24, we held our first services back in the sanctuary. The pews were in, although most lacked cushions. Carpet has yet to be installed on the aisles, the sound system isn't working, the single stained glass window that was destroyed is several months away from completion, and a new organ takes at least 2 years to build. But the santurary is usable, with a new coffered ceiling, a lovely shade of yellow on the walls , far better acoustics and a spirit of community that can be lost in a church unchallenged. In the meantime, we have bought a building nearby on the square and use it for youth programs and a Saturday night service that is proving popular.

It was a great present for all of us, after a year of holding services next door at the United Methodist Church's fellowship hall, but as our pastor says, the church is the people, not the building. This past year has proved it.

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As we have done for the past 14 years, our offices are closed during the week between Christmas and New Years Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 3. We are all checking our email and office voice mail while the offices are closed, however. You can reach anyone via telephone by calling their direct office number and leaving a voice mail. (To get a direct office number, call 615-690-3400 and choose the "directory" option. You can also find a "department" number as well, if you don't know the person you'd like to talk with.) And several people have a feature that alerts them whenever someone leaves voice mail. Happy holidays!

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For the past 14 years or so, Hammock Publishing elves have used all the skills learned from working those summers at the Gap, to fold and box up T-shirts to mail to our friends who read this blog (and many who don't).

Last Friday, we once more gathered together to carry-on this tradition. (Except for Shannon, who, get this, had to work!) Despite appearances, no child labor laws were broken in the packaging of these T-shirts.

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All the presents under the Hammock tree are for Bill Hudgins today as he celebrates 12 years with Hammock Publishing. While he ripped through the paper and ribbons with the vim of a six-year-old, I solicited his Hammock history with a few questions

1. Dec. 15 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing?
12 years, longer than anyone else except Rex. I believe I am also the oldest employee, at 56-plus.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock?
I knew just about everyone here  I had worked with most of them at Buntin Public Relations before Hammock Publishing was founded, and had also done a bit of freelance work here a few months earlier. But what struck me was the aura of freedom, empowerment and creativity  for example, we were encouraged to investigate this weird new thing called the Internet. It was really like coming home after a long journey.

3. If you didnt work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing?
Working for LandLine Magazine, a trucking publication produced by the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association. I write a column for them and occasional feature articles.

4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up?
Rocky and Bullwinkle: For better or (most would say) worse, it shaped my sense of humor and verbal skills.

5. What was your most memorable day at Hammock?
The second most memorable was just after midnight on the Sunday before Memorial Day 1998, when I was in Washington, D.C., covering the annual Rolling Thunder Parade honoring POWs and MIAs from our wars for a trucking magazine we published then called Road King. A freelancer named Mike Perry was with me and we were at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Later that morning, my wife joined us, and we rode with some 250,000 motorcyclists through the streets of DC. The next day I laid a wreath at The Wall on behalf of truckers. It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had, and still makes my eyes mist over.

The most memorable was an occasion we dont talk about much here, but that changed the companys direction  for the better.

6. Whats your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate?
The only reality show I ever watched, and I use the term advisedly, was Dancing With the Stars. I watched that because I started learning ballroom dance earlier this year. Yeah, Id give it a shot.

7. Where did you go to college?
Columbia University in New York City.

8. Where did you grow up?
Victoria, Va., a very small town about 65 miles southwest of Richmond. We have an accent there that sounds a lot like Canadian  dog becomes doag, house hohse, that sort of thing. They used to grow a lot of tobacco, and when I was a young child in the '50s, the now-vanished Virginian Railroad was the big employer. I havent been back in years.

9. What was the last book you read? Last magazine you read cover to cover?
I mostly read audiobooks. The most recent was Ann Patchetts Bel Canto, which I decided to read after she emceed the Nashville Area Literacy Council Spelling Bee that Hammocks team won. I had also read her Patron Saint of Liars a while back and enjoyed that. Magazine? Hmm, thats hard. I rarely read all of any magazine. Family Handyman probably comes closest as the most recent.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why?
Its a toss-up between Rex Hammock, so I could understand more about the stuff he blogs, and Carrie Wakeford, because she is an artist and I would like to know what it feels like to be able to do the kinds of work she does.

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Hammock Publishing production director Barbara Mathieson volunteers at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere during her time away from work. She is pictured on the zoo website at http://nashvillezoo.org/docents.htm. Barbara is in the new Lorikeet Landing and is showing visitors how to attract the colorful birds with cups of nectar.

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December is another busy month for Hammock Days. What's a Hammock Day you might ask... Well, it's the anniversary that each of us joined the Hammock team. Dec. 4 was that day for me, and since I tie everyone to a chair and withhold food and water until they answer these questions for me, I decided I'd better do the same.

1. December 4 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Five years.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? I started the same day as Maggie Flynn, who is now in California dating a surfer and writing a book. And I remember everyone being so... casual isn't the right word, but comfortable might be. The atmosphere was instantly creative, warm, welcoming and comfortable.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? I'd either be a Vegas showgirl or a Secret Service sniper, dressed in black and hanging out on rooftops, undetected, waiting for the bad guys to walk into my sights.
4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up? I've always had a soft spot for Michigan J. Frog.

5. What was the last book you read? Last magazine you read cover to cover? Oh gosh, my mom would be ashamed, but it's been a while since I've read a whole book, just pieces and parts of several. But maybe "Beautiful Stranger." It's autobiographical about a girl, her looks, her obsession with changing them and why. Last magazine. Shop, etc. Highly educational stuff!

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? Oh goodness, there have been so many over five years. The first one that keeps coming to mind is the first time Rex ever personally called me, at home. If I remember the story correctly, there was a fire at a printing facility that we used at the time, and Barbara Mathieson just happened to be visiting during the accident. The fire was making national news, and Rex was just letting everyone know that Barbara was okay. To this day, when I pick up the phone and hear "Summer, this is Rex," I get just a little nervous that something's burning.

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? Cole and I are big "Survivor" fans, but the whole eating-bugs part would keep from ever even trying out.

8. Where did you go to college? Cole claims that I went to every college in Texas, but that's not true. My degree came from the school formerly known as Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, just about 30 minutes south of Austin.

9. Where did you grow up? I was born in a town called Brownwood, just about 30 miles from the "geographic center" of Texas. I went to school in Early, Texas, a town of about 1,900 at the time.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Shannon McRae. (She edits MyBusiness Magazine.) Everything I do is web-related, and I think it would be interesting to be knee-deep in the paper and ink that it takes to produce a magazine.

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