It is Christmas time, friends and
neighbors, and that means you get a real treat. Not here of course. No, the
treat will come from your family or friends or Santa Claus or the government. I’m
just going to tell you some of the junk that’s on my mind.
First of all, I want you to know that I
don’t really care if Whoopi and Rosie had a big argument about whatever it was
they argued about. Those people are only as real as you care to make them and I
choose to pretend that they are just as real as the Geico lizard. Maybe even
less real. I also don’t care about anyone named Kardashian, Duggar, Robertson
or whatever last name those “royal” folks are going by these days. Windsor,
Hanover? Don’t know, don’t care. I am very disappointed in Mr. Cosby, if indeed
he did all those evil things we've been hearing about incessantly. But those
feelings of disappointment are somewhat abstract since I never really knew him
or any of his victims.
Wow, that was a hard-nosed paragraph. You
all must think I’m a real Grinch. But I’m not. I still care about lots of
stuff. I don’t care about any TV shows because I don’t watch them, unless I’m
stuck in a motel room during a long trip. Even then I’m more inclined to read
the Gideon book, or the Mormon one if the motel is a multi-holy book kind of
place. And I don’t care much about new movies because I can’t see spending more
than twenty bucks for the generally unpleasant experience we get in modern
multiplexes. And pop music loses me pretty quickly. The appeal of Broadway
shows are a mystery to me. I’m culturally bereft, I guess. Another paragraph is
done and I still haven’t found something positive to say. This is turning into
a depressing Christmas message.
How about the advances in our government?
Haven’t all the folks we've put in office set aside their greed and quests for
personal gain to truly do what’s right for the country? Haven’t they quit their
lying, cheating ways and turned to openness and honesty? Rats. This paragraph
has less hope than the last two. I’m getting out of this one.
Well maybe this will work. I care about
family, about my daughters and their husbands, about my grandchildren now
numbering four, about my brothers and sister and mother, nieces, nephews,
cousins and aunts, and in-laws. I care about my friends and poetry colleagues
all around the world. They’re all real people with real lives and problems and
joys. I care about their problems and joys. I care about you, the real person
reading this thing. I care about the sadness that afflicts our World every damn
day; the horrible things happening to children, the constant wars and the
constant tension that leads to those wars, the sad decisions that people make
to hate other people for so many foolish reasons. It’s true that I can’t do too
much about all that sadness. I hope that by being kind to people, by being a
decent family man, by showing as much love as I can, the world might be a bit
brighter. But that’s a long shot.
Trying
to help by being a good citizen is something most of the people I know work at
on a regular basis. I try to follow their good example. Maybe someday that will
bring positive results.
That’s
probably another long shot. We can hope.
I care about the Christmas season. And I’m
happy to acknowledge all the other ways folks from different cultures celebrate
their holy days, even the one made up back in the late sixties. I actually met
one of the people responsible for creating that holiday this past year. His
intentions were honorable and he was a nice man. Another peaceful holiday can’t
be a bad thing in these times. So in spite of my grouchy old man ranting I do
have a little hope left. And Christmas time is all about the possibilities of
fresh hope. The Christian tradition of Christmas is honorable. The Jewish
tradition of Hanukkah is honorable. The Muslim tradition of Ramadan is
honorable. Even Kwanzaa is honorable. All of these traditions offer a positive
and hopeful message which can be understood and assimilated into our real
lives. Even those non-believing humanist folks who want to do good for the sake
of all people can be appreciated in this season of hope. So join me in latching
on to one or two of these traditions. It could do us all some good.
Crap. I wrote a sermon and a pretty poor
and generic one at that. Oh well. If you don’t like it just hit the delete
button and pretend you didn't read all the way down to this paragraph where I
say -
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all
of you good people. Now go have a fine day.
