Almost a White Christmas

I was shaving my head this morning, thinking everyone else in the house was still asleep when my 5 year old son yanked the bathroom door open and exclaimed, "It snowed. I was the first one to see it. It snowed."

We live in a place where snow rarely falls so a snow, especially on a day when there's no school, is a great blessing. Both of my sons bundled up and ran outside to play in the cold, white morning. Maggie, the dog was equally excited. She ran around the boys, chasing them and eating snow. The divine Mrs. L was outside with the whole crew, taking pictures and laughing with the boys. It was a beautiful sight.

Thank you God, for my beautiful wife. Thank you for my healthy, happy sons. Thank you for our warm house. Thank you for the glorious seasons and their respective delights. Thank you for the wonder and joy of a snowy morning.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

We started Eat Week at the office. This is a company tradition of dubious value. It begins with an email from Janice, coordinator of all things edible and part time receptionist. The email outlines the dates and times as well as the opportunities for involvement. Many employees bring food items that they've made and others, known collectively as the Rat Pack, donate money to a fund that buys sloppy joes or Subway sandwiches. The conference room, typically reserved for large meetings and Executive Management Committee reviews becomes a buffet. The Crock Pots and the chip bags and the platters cover the table. Somebody makes cheese dip. Somebody makes those little white chocolate covered haystacks of pretzels. Somebody makes a bundt cake, which lasts only an hour or so. All in all, it's a glutton's dreamland and a dieter's nightmare. Somehow, this smorgasboard is supposed to make us happier employees. By some Christmas-time miracle we're supposed to be transported by the banquet. It never happens. By 11:00am we're all suffering from the crash that follows a sugar rush or we're full of carbohydrates and cheese dip and we can't keep our eyes open. There's no Christmas magic here. Only a heavy feeling in our stomachs and an awareness that we are stupid enough to eat anything that's put in front of us, regardless of nutritional value or metabolic need. We're sheep in desparate need of a shepherd.

Oh yeah... that's what Christmas is really about anyway. Joy to the world! Our shepherd has come.

Everyone loves a good stoning

Hey! The bandwagon is driving past. You're going to miss it.

Target Stores will not be letting the Salvation Army bell ringers stand outside their stores this Christmas season. They have made the statement that they do not allow other groups to solicit on their parking lots and in order to maintain their integrity, they must not allow the Salvation Army to solicit Target shoppers.

You know what happened next. The Salvation Army went to the media to let the story be told. They villified Target and they claimed that they would "lose" $9 million this holiday season. The talking heads have jumped on the story and most (all of them that I have heard) are criticizing Target for their Scrooge-like stance.

I may be the only person who likes the change. My wife and I give to many charitable organizations. We carry packages of food and water in our cars to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. I've never given money to the Salvation Army. I don't disagree with them or their works. I just happen to give to other organizations throughout the year. Therefore, the bell ringers are only an annoyance to me.

I wish someone from Target would remind the media of the millions of dollars that they return to the communities where their stores are located. I wish Target would remind the media of the opportunities to give year round. I wish Target would boldly stand up to the mob that's ready to lynch them for this decision.

I'm not a huge Target fan. It's a store. Just one of a long list of places I'd rather not be, especially at holiday time. But, I hate to see the public following the media headlines, gathering up stones to throw at Target. (It's not just Target... Jesse Jackson, the ACLU, Al Sharpton are all skilled at blackmail and extortion and have done their share of inciting mob mentality before today)

The mob comes together and builds an amount of shared anger about the injustice done. Mostly, they're happy it's not them. It's easy to hold the anger at Target, a large, faceless corporation. It's easy to say "I'll never shop there again." It makes the public feel empowered when a victim, I mean subject of one of these witch hunts finally caves in to public pressure.

I suggest that the populace be rallied to give of their substantial means year round. Stamp out hunger. Save a whale. Protect Mother Earth. Fund the fight against AIDS. Put your dollars where your beliefs are everyday. Make a plan. Don't just drop a coin or two into a red bucket each Christmas. You've got more potential than that. Do something meaningful in April, May, August, October... not just December.