You did find me again. Good work and welcome to
Wednesday, December 22, 2010, where one of the things I am thinking about today is a spirit of gratefulness. While it is the season to be jolly, it is also a time to consider our thankfulness quotient. On Sunday when we were at the apartments for a fun day and folks were having their photos made with Santa, a man came in pushing his son in a wheelchair. The young man, maybe in his early teens, was profoundly disabled but you would have never known it from his expression and that of his dad. They rolled him over next to me and he was elated. He couldn't speak but he was so excited. I leaned over into his area and they took several shots. His dad coaxed him to tell me what he wanted for Christmas. The young man grunted and strained but I couldn't make out what he was trying to say. The dad finally said he wants movies. He likes to watch movies. As they prepared to leave I wished them a most wonderful Christmas. As dad grabbed the handles of the wheel chair he simply said, "We are much too blessed to have anything other than a wonderful Christmas." I had already been fighting tears but I now nearly lost it. However, Santa has to be jolly for the children's sake so I held it in. The dad's words rang in my ears. "Much too blessed to have anything other than a wonderful Christmas." That just knocked me down. As you can see, it's still on my mind today. I felt this powerful surge of conviction for being so petty about things that don't go my way, while at the same time I felt overwhelmed by a sense of how truly special this young man is, this young man with so many special needs, who has a dad devoted to him. Don't know what else to say other than to be thankful for them coming by to remind me of a need to recognize that we are much too blessed to have anything other than a wonderful Christmas.
I believe in boycotts. I persist in my boycott of not subscribing to the AARP, (Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons), because they were one of those first in line to drink the Kool Aid of the Obama health care debacle. I saw in the news where they recently notified customers of a huge increase in the health care plan they sell. That's right. The one they sell. Does that sound a little fishy to you? They are all tied up in the bowels of the health care law, and meanwhile, back at the ranch they have hundreds of millions tied up in health insurance sales. I hear that chuckle out there where everyone is thinking about how silly it is for me to do something like this when it will not ever in a million years make any difference whatsoever. They know about it because I sent them an email. How funny is that? One little voice out there in the heartland sending his little email to the mega company who masquerades as the champion of the elderly while profiting left and right on, you guessed it, the elderly. I have others on my boycott list that I could write about but when you start listing them people will begin to wonder whether some of your wiring has gone bad. I don't lack any respect for anyone who is a member and enjoys the benefits to their fullest. It's my view. It's my way of looking at it. It's my way of saying something, if not to them, to me, and to you, at least now that you have seen it on my blog. I never said that you should expect too much when you tune in to my station, it is what you see, and obviously, somewhat off the beaten path. I'm not certain about the beaten path as a word picture but I've always liked it and thought I might throw it in for good measure.
They obviously do not harbor any hard feelings given the amount of their mailouts that continues to be stuffed in our mail box. Some folks tell me about all the money they save by using their membership card. That's okay with me and technically I'm not retired anyway. I could be like the fellow who used to tell me he always gave up broccoli for lent. I reminded him that he never ate broccoli and he told me that was just a technicality. Hey, I know swimming against the current can be a daunting task but in the end we all do what we believe to be the right thing, or I hope that's what we do. We still have that privilege and I am thankful for it. Enough about that stuff, it is Christmas, and surely we have something else to jaw about. I do patronize the bell ringers because while they are paid to ring, the funds collected go to many of those in need, and we don't have to be a genius to know that's a huge number this year. It's no shame to be one of those in need. The man and woman chosen to be the earthly parents of our Lord and Savior were poor. How do we know they were poor? Because they could not afford a lamb whenever they went to the Temple to dedicate Jesus. They had to opt for the offering of the poor, two turtle doves. Let me tell you this, they being devout followers of Jehovah God, had they been able they would have purchased the most unblemished lamb they could find for the dedication of the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. But they couldn't and so they did the best they could. While they did not have much in terms of worldly goods they obviously had plenty in terms of their devotion to God and in their godly character. (Read all about it in the first three chapters of the Gospel according to Luke.) Something to ponder as we continue our journey towards Christmas.
Amen. ......More later.
I believe in boycotts. I persist in my boycott of not subscribing to the AARP, (Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons), because they were one of those first in line to drink the Kool Aid of the Obama health care debacle. I saw in the news where they recently notified customers of a huge increase in the health care plan they sell. That's right. The one they sell. Does that sound a little fishy to you? They are all tied up in the bowels of the health care law, and meanwhile, back at the ranch they have hundreds of millions tied up in health insurance sales. I hear that chuckle out there where everyone is thinking about how silly it is for me to do something like this when it will not ever in a million years make any difference whatsoever. They know about it because I sent them an email. How funny is that? One little voice out there in the heartland sending his little email to the mega company who masquerades as the champion of the elderly while profiting left and right on, you guessed it, the elderly. I have others on my boycott list that I could write about but when you start listing them people will begin to wonder whether some of your wiring has gone bad. I don't lack any respect for anyone who is a member and enjoys the benefits to their fullest. It's my view. It's my way of looking at it. It's my way of saying something, if not to them, to me, and to you, at least now that you have seen it on my blog. I never said that you should expect too much when you tune in to my station, it is what you see, and obviously, somewhat off the beaten path. I'm not certain about the beaten path as a word picture but I've always liked it and thought I might throw it in for good measure.
They obviously do not harbor any hard feelings given the amount of their mailouts that continues to be stuffed in our mail box. Some folks tell me about all the money they save by using their membership card. That's okay with me and technically I'm not retired anyway. I could be like the fellow who used to tell me he always gave up broccoli for lent. I reminded him that he never ate broccoli and he told me that was just a technicality. Hey, I know swimming against the current can be a daunting task but in the end we all do what we believe to be the right thing, or I hope that's what we do. We still have that privilege and I am thankful for it. Enough about that stuff, it is Christmas, and surely we have something else to jaw about. I do patronize the bell ringers because while they are paid to ring, the funds collected go to many of those in need, and we don't have to be a genius to know that's a huge number this year. It's no shame to be one of those in need. The man and woman chosen to be the earthly parents of our Lord and Savior were poor. How do we know they were poor? Because they could not afford a lamb whenever they went to the Temple to dedicate Jesus. They had to opt for the offering of the poor, two turtle doves. Let me tell you this, they being devout followers of Jehovah God, had they been able they would have purchased the most unblemished lamb they could find for the dedication of the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. But they couldn't and so they did the best they could. While they did not have much in terms of worldly goods they obviously had plenty in terms of their devotion to God and in their godly character. (Read all about it in the first three chapters of the Gospel according to Luke.) Something to ponder as we continue our journey towards Christmas. Amen. ......More later.
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