At this time of year, I love to put on my favorite music: Handel's "Messiah."

And now whenever the choir gets to the part where they sing, "All we like sheep ... have gone astray," I think of my nephew. When he was small, he was in a Christmas pageant, and at one point in the midst of rehearsal, he heaved a sigh. "So what's the big deal about sheep?" he asked. "All we like sheep. Okay, we like sheep. Fine. But why do we have to say it over and over?"