Sadness at a time of joy

Thanksgiving weekend is a time of joy for most Americans. Normally we gather together with family and friends and enjoy wonderful feasts while watching football and parades and preparing for a month of holiday parties. Hopefully we spend some of the day doing what the day was actually set aside for - giving thanks. There have been times though when this joyful holiday is also a day of sadness. 

Those of you old enough will recall that President John F Kennedy was shot and killed just five days before Thanksgiving back in 1963. The new President, Lyndon Johnson announced on Thanksgiving morning that Cape Canaveral, in Florida "shall be known hereafter as Cape Kennedy." (The old name was restored less than ten years later).

Already suffering great sadness for the 918 souls lost in the Jonestown, Guyana massacre, San Francisco was hit by another tragedy back in 1978 - the murder in City Hall of two elected officials. 

Today marks the anniversary of those assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. People waking up on this date in 1978 saw a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle that read MOSCONE, MILK SLAIN--DAN WHITE IS HELD. Less than a month before Christmas, with San Francisco decorated in its holiday splendor, there was great sadness at a time of joy. 

Lately there has been a lot of negative news, including the shooting of two National Guardsmen yesterday and a horrible fire in Hong Kong where at least 75 people perished and many are still missing.  Our country seems more divided than I have ever seen it.  Still, on this Thanksgiving Day, even in the midst of so much sadness, there are still reasons to be thankful.

Never give up, I always say.  We can make things better.  We can create more and more reasons to give thanks!

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Just about everyone is familiar with Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and in a month, I'll be happy to share it here, but NOT NOW. I don't know when we got in such a hurry, but it isn't anything new. Each year though we seem to outdo each other by being earlier and earlier. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and I'd like to concentrate on that for now.

Now don't get me wrong. I love Christmas! I always have and probably always will. When I was little, I was scared because of a horrible news story and Mom said to think of something happy. I thought of Christmas. Christmas makes me happy. This isn't Christmastime though. It certainly wasn't Christmastime when I saw those first decorations going up a couple of months ago!

I'm very traditional, and there might not be many more folks who think this way. In a month I will begin my Christmas festivities and they will continue until January 6th. For me, the twelve days of Christmas is the way to celebrate, but I may very well be alone in that thinking.

We do have a very fine holiday coming up tomorrow. I can begin tonight with this wonderful children's book featuring Farmer Mack Nuggett and his turkey farm. This is a delightful tale that this grown man pulls out each year, even though I am told that Dav Pilkey created it for little kids.  I guess there is a bit of kid in all of us!

Wheels on the bus go round and round

Back when I lived in San Francisco, I rode the bus nearly every day. There was a lot of complaining about the buses being crowded at certain times of day, or about them running late, but it was still a pretty good way to get around. When I saw the same driver and he or she would smile or call me by name, that was a nice warm connection that seemed to melt other problems away.

Dealing with so many people every day would seem to be a pretty tough job, and yet most of those bus drivers were so good at their task. It particularly warmed my heart when they gave you a "bonus" like the drivers that sang out the stops or who made those extra announcements, especially when there were some jokes thrown in.

Recently a friend of mine told me that he had lost his wallet while riding a bus. Losing money is never good, but when your ID and credit cards, and all those other things you carry are gone too, it can ruin your day. When the mail came a few days later, and it contained his wallet, that was a lovely surprise! Enclosed with it was a simple note: "I found this on my coach. Signed, Bus Driver." He wanted to get it back to its owner, but didn't care about any thanks, so didn't leave his name or any kind of identification. What a nice driver!

The operators of public transportation perform an important service. Too often we moan about the negative moments and ignore all the positive. The next time you ride a city bus or taxi, let your driver know they are appreciated.

Did you ever know that you're my hero

Remember when Bette Midler sang "Did you ever know that you're my hero"?  The song is Wind Beneath My Wings and numerous other artists recorded it, but the point I want to make is regarding its lyrics.  I think it is talking about a friend or relative, someone who is special and whom she considers her hero and her idol. There is nothing wrong with a little hero worship and I think everyone should have someone like she does!

 

A few months before my mother died, I was helping her set up a new telephone lifeline system and, as a backup password, they wanted to know the name of her hero.  Without hesitation Mom said "Dad," meaning her father.  How wonderful that long after he had died, my mother still looked at her father as her hero.

 

I write here often of people we might consider heroes.  Some are well known and some are folks that would only be known within their community.  What is it that make them a hero though and has anyone ever encouraged them to continue that behavior?  One of the things I like about that Bette Midler song is that it seems to be addressed directly to her hero.  How wonderful!  Let that person know what you think of them.  Oh they my blush and even say "aw shucks!" but acknowledging good behavior only encourages more of it, and that certainly can't be a bad thing!

The Good and the Bad

It seems like every day I wake up to a mixture of good and bad news. There seems to be more and more of the bad news.

Although Israel signed a ceasefire one year ago to end hostilities in Lebanon, today began with the Israeli military attacking the southern suburbs of Beirut. Casualties have been reported.

As we prepare for the celebration of Thanksgiving Day in the United States, we also just remembered the murder-suicide of Johnstown back in 1978, the loss of so many transgender souls do to hate, the murder of President John Kennedy, and we are approaching the anniversary of the assassination of two San Francisco politicians. That is only part of it.

I won't dwell on the bad or even mention the good. I just want to remind everyone of what I so often say here. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. So no to hate. Spread kindness and positivity. Do good. Say no to things that harm others. I'm going to keep trying to convince people that there are so many reasons to be nice to one another.

As Thanksgiving week begins, I have so much to be thankful for, and I hope you do too. Let's make that list grow. Let is fill our lives with good and work hard to eliminate the bad.  I know we can make things better.

That Day In Dallas

Those of you who are older than me, probably remember in great detail that day in Dallas. Dr Martin Luther King had given his “I Have A Dream” speech three months earlier.  Zip codes (“Zone Improvement Plan”) and touch-tone phones were pretty new.  Everyone was listening to The Beatles (or making fun of them).  We were still six months away from the first moon landing.  None of that really stands out for me in relation to November 22, 1963, but I remember the news from that day and from the days that followed.

My grandparents lived just two blocks from my elementary school, so it was there that I went when school closed early that day and they sent us home.  It was there where I spent much of the next few days too.  I remember watching the state funeral on television.  I remember all the talk about this John F Kennedy, that I didn't really know about - I was a kid.  They kept showing the events over and over though and so it is burned into my memory.  That day in Dallas is something I will never forget.

Over the years there have been other such events. Some of them have been good (like the first walk on the moon) and many have been bad (like so many other assassinations). It would be nice to think that only good things would come and that we would learn from the bad and that going forward, we wouldn't make the same mistakes. Sadly, that hasn't been the case.

Can we learn?  Can we find a way to love?  Can we stop the hate and the destruction?  What do YOU think?

Baby it's cold outside

Although winter doesn't officially come to the US until next month, the temperatures have already dipped in a number of places. Here in Arizona where I live, it's been down in the 30s every night this week, and we even had a significant snowfall already. Now is a good time to remember your farm animals or pets and to especially remember the homeless who are outside all the time.

Nice clean warm socks, sturdy shoes, and warm blankets to cover yourself, and of course a good sturdy overcoat are all so very helpful to those in need. A Texas organization called Project Warm Us can use donations and volunteers. Find out more at http://www.projectwarm.us/ A Nashville based organization called Soles4Souls distributes shoes to needy people and, I'm told is also now distributing coats. Their website is https://soles4souls.org/ There are churches and other organizations in communities across the country that do collections and give these things to the needy. Check around where you live, and if you don't find anything, consider beginning a program of your own. The thanks you get back will warm your hearts!

When I lived in San Francisco, we had an annual memorial for people who died outside on the street. Many of those died because of the cold. Most of those deaths could have been prevented. Let's step up and do something.