Merriam-Webster word for the day, heterodox

Today's M-W word is "heterodox," meaning different opinions or ways of perceiving things. I looked at the website for "Heterodox Academy" and found pretty much what I thought. Anything can be good or useful or instructional, but not if perceived as orthodox, conservative, and traditional. In fact, you could pretty much throw out the concepts of truth, goodness or beauty. I glanced through the blog written for Heterodox Academy and found a take down of Canadian psychologist/professor Dr. Jordan Peterson, who actually is best known for challenging orthodox leftist theory and mind control. Funny how words work. When Jordan Peterson challenges punishments for using the obvious pronoun, he's alt-right. Ten years ago, he would have just been using correct English. But the LGBTQ lobby has become very powerful in recent years and now the obvious has become the hateful.

Peterson has a best seller that is just driving the Leftists around the bend. It's called, "12 rules for life; an antidote to chaos." You can see from the title why it would upset those who want society in constant chaos--like attacking Chick-fil-A or killing off the unborn so they need to ship in more immigrants who have a higher birth rate. And admittedly, Peterson does give young people outrageous, non-leftist advice such as:

#1 Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
#5 Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them.
#8 Tell the truth--or, at least, don't lie.
#12 Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street.

You can see who is really heterodox. Peterson. He sprinkles his writing with basic psychological research, studies about animals (he particularly likes lobsters), some Judeo-Christian concepts, and a little Greek and Roman history. Except for the lobsters, people my age scratch their heads and say, This is best seller stuff? What our parents taught us? You'd never find such outrageous concepts in the writings of a recently tenured American professor at an elite university charging you $75,000 a year.

The Democrats have pitted Americans against each other

Devon Nunes opening reports in today’s Schiff Show:

“President Trump, we are to believe, was just about to do something wrong, and getting caught was the only reason he backed down from whatever nefarious thought-crime the Democrats are accusing him of almost committing,” Nunes continued before dovetailing to his key point about it being the Democrats “who got caught.”

As evidence, he cited everything from the debunked Russian collusion delusion conspiracy theory that they gleefully touted for three years straight to their unscrupulous handling of the partisan whistleblower complaint:

♦ “They got caught falsely claiming they had more than circumstantial evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians to hack the 2016 elections.”

♦ “They got caught orchestrating this entire farce with the Whistleblower and lying about their secret meetings with him.”

♦ “They got caught defending the false allegations of the Steele dossier, which was paid for by the Democrats.”

♦ “They got caught breaking their promise that impeachment would only go forward with bipartisan support because of how damaging it is to the American people.”

♦ “They got caught running a sham impeachment process featuring secret depositions, hidden transcripts, and an unending flood of Democrat leaks.”

♦ “They got caught trying to obtain nude photos of President Trump from Russian pranksters pretending to be Ukrainians.”

♦ “And they got caught covering up for Alexandra Chalupa — a Democratic National Committee operative who colluded with Ukrainian officials to smear the Trump campaign — by improperly redacting her name from deposition transcripts and refusing to let Americans hear her testimony as a witness in these proceedings.”

“That is the Democrats’ pitiful legacy in recent years: They. Got. Caught,” he added.

Meanwhile, he continued, the accusations that have been levied against the president by the Democrats’ star witnesses have all been based on second-hand information and hearsay.

“Ladies and gentlemen, unless the Democrats once again scramble their kangaroo court rules, today’s hearing marks the merciful end of this spectacle in the Impeachment Committee, formerly known as the Intelligence Committee,” he added.

“Whether the Democrats reap the political benefit they want from this impeachment remains to be seen. But the damage they have done to this country will be long-lasting.”

He argued for instance that the Democrats’ impeachment drive has “pitted Americans against one another” in ways not seen before.”

Ukraine timeline from 2014

Remember the good old days (of last month) when the media were denying the coup--calling it hyperbole and fantasy? Now they praise an unelected careerist bureaucracy displayed during the hearings that seeks to overturn the president and the 2016 election.

John Solomon has laid out the Ukraine timeline beginning in 2014--there may be deeper political reasons, but protecting Biden's son and Kerry step-son and the families' wealth has certainly got to be at the top (or bottom). Although Solomon was reporting on the first tidbits of the scandal when most Americans had never heard of Ukraine, I really think if loose-lip, slightly demented Joe had never confessed in public to getting that prosecutor fired, this could still all be under the Obama era rug. You remember? The one with no scandals.

https://johnsolomonreports.com/the-ukraine-scandal-timeline-democrats-and-their-media-allies-dont-want-america-to-see/

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/21/victor-davis-hanson-the-deep-state-at-w/?news-columnists

Ambassador Sondland’s testimony

"On examination, Ambassador Sondland admitted that only his presumptions tied conditions to the aid. His actual exchange with the President offered only, "I want nothing from Ukraine! Tell him to do what he ran on; tell him to do the right thing. I want nothing from them - there is no quid-pro-quo!"

The MSM did not report the examination of the Ambassador to its viewers!

They instead told their viewers that a conviction in the Senate was made inevitable by Sondland's testimony, ignoring altogether, Sondland's admission that only his presumptions tied conditions to the Ukrainian aid." (Patricia Anthone)

It's been shocking to me to listen to Democrat friends who watch and listen to testimony yet only hear "fact" instead of assumption, where people are clearly speculating about and interpreting the mind of someone they hate. They become enraged and unhinged if you point out what wasn't said. FACTS.

Would any of these Democrats, well educated, loyal Americans, want to face a jury this biased and hateful?  Would they agree to marriage counseling or arbitration if this sort of bias were taken as reliable information or fact? Why do people expect justice for themselves but no justice for people they hate?

What Democrats are doing should frighten you

My thoughts exactly. Even if you hate President Trump, you should be very afraid of the way Congressional Democrats and the media are destroying our justice system and basic principles of evidence and innocence. It's the show trials of the 1930s, USSR.

The Sondland Nothingburger

“Democrats are working on another nothingburger today with Ambassador Gordon Sondland's testimony. Not only did Sondland admit again that the only direct evidence he has on Trump is Trump's own statement saying he wanted nothing from Ukraine — "no quid pro quo" — but he also had to admit he has zero evidence Trump even tried to connect the military aid to the investigations of 2016 election interference and Burisma.” PJ Media. https://pjmedia.com/trending/amb-sondland-admits-he-has-no-evidence-trump-tied-ukraine-military-aid-to-investigations-other-than-his-own-presumption/

I listened to a small part of this scratching my head that Democrats were wetting their pants in anticipation of. . . Trump saying he wanted nothing?  What’s going on with these crazies?

In this whole mess, the only one who has admitted to wrong doing, to quid quo pro, is Joe Biden when he bragged about getting someone fired. Oh well.  The Obama Administration was protected.

Children have been rescued by ICE

This is sure to upset Leftists who want ICE shut down. Children have been rescued. "Special agents, investigators and analysts from across HSI have dedicated themselves to protecting children and rooting out predators for more than two decades. In FY 19, HSI initiated 4,224 child exploitation cases resulting in 3,771 criminal arrests, and identified or rescued 1,066 victims – an increase of nearly 18% over FY 18 and reflecting HSI’s firm commitment to ending these heinous crimes against children, wherever they occur.

Locally, HSI agents in the Seattle AOR arrested hundreds of individuals for child pornography violations, including a youth sports coach, elementary school music teacher, nurse assistant, suspected rapist, child sex tourist and a number of other previously convicted, registered sex offenders. . ." And Seattle? Wow

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-helps-remove-more-3500-sexual-predators-community-18-over-last-year

"HSI is committed to eradicating individuals from our communities who seek to prey on children,” said Eben Roberts, acting special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “HSI’s agents, in cooperation with our law enforcement partners, work tirelessly to find and bring to justice, individuals who commit these heinous crimes. Moreover, we are dedicated to rescuing from harm’s way our most precious population – our children – and those who seek to harm them should consider this a warning.” "

But how do you eradicate people from the community who are sexually abusing children legally with the cooperation of their parents with the transgender hoax aka "gender affirmation surgery." Check the internet for any major city—Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus, LA—and you find these gender affirming clinics. Follow the money.  Where were they 10 years ago?

Nothing a patriot can’t do

What makes Donald J. Trump so popular with the people and so successful in accomplishing things other politicians could only dream about? He loves America!

New book by his son reveals his zest for life. https://spectator.org/the-book-on-the-president/

When visiting with the president in the Oval Office, the writer of this article in American Spectator expected to find the man who is maligned in the press--stormy, erratic obsessed—the guy the Trump haters like to pick on.

"I hate to report back to his enemies, but he was not erratic, not gloomy, not obsessed with his enemies. In fact, we hardly talked about his enemies. The president was upbeat, optimistic, and full of fun. He was in very good form, and his aide, Brad Parscale, remarked that this is one of the reasons Parscale enjoys working with him. Never once did the president mention a conservative writer, but he mentioned things American. When I mentioned my visit with a Fox News contributor, he said he had had a similar experience. “They’re [the president’s enemies are] living in a bubble,” the Fox reporter said. The president is having a ball, and if he is obsessed with his enemies he never showed it to us."

Oops. Wrong president.

A story that claimed the Trump administration had the highest number of children in detention in the world was suddenly withdrawn by several media outlets because the study upon which the story was based used data from 2015 when Barack Obama was president. (PJMedia)

Of course, there will be no further stories on the plight of immigrant children because unless Trump can be vilified and maligned, there is not story. Just doesn't sell. Who cares about kids, anyway?

You haven’t seen anything yet

Wall Street Journal today opined "The left’s culture warriors always need new monsters to slay. Among their most improbable targets in recent years is the famously friendly restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, which this week appears to have surrendered.

In 2012 CEO Dan Cathy, a committed evangelical Christian, sinned against the progressive ethos by expressing support for the traditional view of marriage. That prompted a political campaign against Chick-fil-A."

Most of us who stood in front of a pastor, judge or someone with a mail-order license and daisies in her hair always believed marriage was between a man and woman. Even most homosexuals. But after activists succeeded in the insurance and work benefits demands, and told everyone it was just about love, things changed after the Supremes again made law and decided to change thousands of years of history. Now if you believe God had something in mind, or even if directionless evolution lurched forward to protect the human race, now you are a hater, bigot, and evil person. And an awful lot of gay guys ended up at the altar (and later in divorce court) who thought they were protected from all that their heterosexual friends and associates were going through.

But is wasn't enough, as we've seen from the growing transgender wars--which threaten homosexuals as much as heterosexuals and will destroy their movement. This Chick-fil-A thing is just one more hole in the wall through which the nation will be attacked at its base--the babies that are unnecessary and inconvenient; the easy divorce or no marriage at all putting generations of children at risk; the demand that we ignore biology and pretend men have periods and babies (which seems to be the only time the Left want babies to live); ignoring the child trafficking across the real border; performing drag queens during library story hour; the dropping birthrate to the place where our population can't be replaced without importing people like oxen to do the dirty work; and the required reeducation camps supplied by our "woke capitalists" and leftist universities. No one will be allowed to have a thought differing from the socialist/communist cabal that is controlling the government and academe.

It will not make any difference if in 2019 you were a social justice warrior who supported gay marriage or the chemical castration of little boys so they can pretend to be girls--eventually even YOU WILL FIND a split in the road and say you won't go down that path. You'll ask, "Where's my country?" Maybe it will be legalized pedophilia, or the redefinition of so much history you'll think you didn't go to school, or digital spying everywhere, or losing your job because you aren't a minority. Look out. Then they'll haul you off to the reeducation camp or the phony trial where you'll have no right to presumption of innocence because in 1850 your family came here from Germany or Ireland.

Chick-Fil-A caves to radicals

"Chick-Fil-A said on Monday that it has stopped funding two Christian charities after coming under fire in recent weeks from LGBTQ activists. The fast-food chain’s foundation has donated millions of dollars to The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Both organizations have a history of opposing same-sex marriage." (CNBC)

And who are the unfortunates being hurt by withdrawing funding from the Salvation Army? Who are the people being hurt by the LGBTQ activists? The homeless. The mentally ill. The single moms with little kids. Take a look at the full homeless report for Los Angeles--the one that breaks down this disfunction by district, race, age and sex. There is a tiny percent of people who are transgender in this country, yet their rate for homelessness is beyond absurd--and these are the very people Salvation Army helps. S.A. doesn't ask gender, race or creed--but the Left does. The Left has polluted everything about our country--there is no decency, kindness or integrity in the whole movement. They poison everything they touch.

Do something small that won’t change lives

Today I packed a bag for a family or household to have complete sides with the turkey Lutheran Social Services will distribute--mashed potatoes, 2 different vegetables, 2 fruits, a cake, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin. I also packed a bag for "God's Hygiene Help Center" which includes personal care items for women who need to get back their dignity. This was started by Tammy Jewell about 8 years ago who was using her own disability check to buy things for those less fortunate. I packed shampoo, hand lotion, cotton balls, razors, deodorant, hand sanitizer, feminine hygiene products, and new Christmas socks, just for fun.

No one's life will be permanently changed. But the recipient may just be on a temporary slide and can bounce back, but she could be mentally ill and spend the rest of her life on the street. Why not have one good day to feel like everyone else? Would that be so terrible?

A few years ago I was visiting in Mt. Morris around the holidays and my Uncle Gene stopped by to chat. He was feeling great--he and a bunch of guys at the bar had taken up their annual collection for turkeys and were going to distribute them to (there was a list). They felt good and there were some families who had a nice meal--nothing life changing, just people helping people.

I was thinking about this because two Nobel Prize winners won on the basis of small projects enhanced by competition and incentive—finding out that children in Africa learn better if the teacher shows up, and that children are more like to get immunizations if they and the health care worker show up.  So simple.  Yet the author of the article was critical.

https://www.econlib.org/nobel-laureates-aim-too-low-on-global-poverty/

Are you ready for a happy ending story?

Many years ago my daughter inherited her grandmother's deviled egg plate. Oh, the wonderful egg delicacies we enjoyed for Indiana holidays--I think they were made by grandpa Jim along with his oyster dressing. Anyway, last Thanksgiving, it broke in the dishwasher and she was crushed. So she started looking on the internet, but everything was just too Easter-ish or was colored glass/pottery, and the ONE was clear and plain. Finally, she saw one on e-Bay, and contacted the owner, who happened to live right here in central Ohio. He told her it was made in Indiana, so she had him send some more photos and then ordered it. It is perfect and wonderful, and we're back in the holiday business.

I think I found the right photo. . .

$100 million from DOJ to fight sex trafficking

One of the issues with the Border Wall (which Democrats used to support) is sex trafficking and trafficking of children. DNA tests show that many of the children of "family groups" are not related, and the kids are passed around. Leftists whine about cages, but don't seem to worry about trafficking. The women are being trafficked, and probably make their handlers more money than drugs, which can't be reused. So when Trump announces that his administration has had about 8x more arrests for sex trafficking (aka slavery) than Obama's the left just howls. First, they try to make it a women's rights issue (how lame) and second, they just hate him so they paste a Pinocchio nose on him based on tweets.

I haven't exactly determined how the money spent differs between Obama and Trump, and it wouldn't make any difference since James Little would find a corresponding cartoon article on the left denying it, but the recent figure is that DOJ has awarded more than $100 million to combat human trafficking and assist victims is reliable and here's a list of the grants, just in case you want to check if any of these agencies are near you. My problem with some of the recipients is they are leftist organizations sopping up federal money who have no particular value system that includes this issue.

https://ojp.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2019/ojp-news-10082019_a.pdf?

Another problem with the list is that about 80% appears to go for training, task forces, information, marketing, "collaborative models," evaluations and salaries. Sure, you can't run a program for abused women and children without trained staff, but I sure would like to see more go directly to the women who need to rebuild their lives--you know, the basics like rent, food, medical care and job training. All the things they didn't have that may have pushed them into the trade. What happens in these cases, the church non-profits pick up the slack and scramble to assemble bedding, cleaning supplies, food, and winter coats.

The critics of Trump need to look in the mirror

The same people who scream and cry at Trump's behavior and claim he doesn't have American values (like my cousin Ron and former tenant Vern) and should be impeached are the ones lusting after every crazy program the 2020 candidates can come up with to distinguish themselves from the next socialist on the ballot. Green new deal. Death to the unborn. Confiscate the guns. Destroy free speech. Force the NFL to have 20% LGBTQ (I made that one up, but it they want it for TV why not football?). Tax wealth, not just income. Legalize and encourage homelessness with increased housing regulations. Start more forest fires with bad environmental rules. Fly in the illegals--don't make them walk; and force all artists and doctors to violate their religious beliefs.

A simple prayer: Jesus, here I am, it’s Norma

When people ask how our family is doing in this difficult time, I usually mumble something like, just pray for a miracle, that's really all we need. That said, so many people have been Jesus with skin on we're so very grateful. Cards, e-mails, meals, invitations, even visits from complete strangers. Even the really awkward conversations that quickly become a tale of woe about their own problems, are meant well.  I read a story this morning about prayer, I'd like to share (from Magnificat, Nov. 2019, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, pp. 248-249)

Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan (d. 2002) was a prisoner of the north Vietnamese for 13 years, and after his liberation people suggested he must have had a lot of time to pray. He told them he was often so exhausted from the confinement and silence, he couldn't say a single word, then he told this story.

"There was an older man named Jim who would go to church every day at noon for just a few minutes, and then he would leave. The sacristan was very curious about Jim's daily routine, and one day he stopped him to ask: "Why do you come here every day?" "I come to pray," Jim answered.

"That's impossible! What prayer can you say in 2 minutes?"

"I am an old, ignorant man. I pray to God in my own way."

"But what do you say?"

"I say: 'Jesus, here I am, it's Jim.' And then I leave." After some years, Jim became ill and had to go to the hospital, where he was admitted to the ward for the poor. When it seemed that Jim was dying, a priest asked, "Jim, tell us how it is that from the day you came to this ward everything changed for the better? How is it that the patients have become happier, more content, and friendlier?"

"I don't know. When I could walk around, I would try to visit everyone. I greeted them, talked a bit with them. When I couldn't get out of bed I called everyone over to me to make them laugh, to make them happy. With Jim they are always happy!"

"But why are YOU happy?"

"Well, aren't you happy when you receive a visitor?" asked Jim.

"Of course, but we have never seen anyone come to visit you."

"When I came here I asked you for 2 chairs. One was for you, Father, and one was reserved for my guest."

"But what guest?" the priest asked.

"I used to go to church to visit Jesus every day at noon. But when I couldn't do that anymore, Jesus came here."

"Jesus comes to visit you? What does he say?"

"He says: 'Jim, here I am, it's Jesus!'" Before dying, Jim smiled and gestured with his hand toward the chair next to his bed, as if inviting someone to sit down. He smiled for the last time and closed his eyes.

The Cardinal continued. When my strength failed and I could not even pray, I repeated: "Jesus, here I am, it's Francis." Joy and consolation would come to me and I experienced Jesus responding: "Francis, here I am, it's Jesus."

Enjoying the Uline Catalog

Found a tidbit in the back of the Uline catalog (uline.com) comparing Texas and California--Uline has branches in both. So Liz Uihlein does a little comparison:

"Californians pay the highest income tax in the country, 13.3%; Texas does not have state income tax.

In California homeownership is at the lowest level since the 1940s.

California public schools system ranks 36th out of 51, Texas ranks 41st. Both states need to do better. [ I'm so old I remember when the California school system was the envy of the nation in the 1960s, although it was in decline, then came Proposition 13.]

Texas is the best state in which to do business and California has some of the most burdensome occupational licensing requirements in America [in case you didn't know this, that really hurts small business, particularly minorities, the backbone of the economy].

California's cost of living is 40% higher than the national average, whereas Texas is 9% lower.

California has the highest gas prices in the country and electricity rates are 50-75% higher than the national average. "

In Norma’s opinion: People are moving out of California, and many flee to Texas, Nevada and Arizona, but they are dragging with them their liberal values and voting which is what destroyed their lives in California! A California academic called rural people stupid, yet California produces 13 percent of the total cash agricultural receipts for the U.S., it is the sole producer of many crops. We could do with fewer elitist academics and more figs and olives.

California is controlled by leftists/Democrats/ socialists/progressives, or whatever you want to call them--if you've got money they want it. Young people and homeless people love it there. Unfortunately, this tsunami of bad decisions is coming our way.

Climate Change as religion

Senator Mazie Hirano of Hawaii (Democrat of course) believes Climate Change needs to be treated like a religion. Most conservatives thought it already was being promoted that way with more protections than real religions. Of course, if it were treated like a religious cult, maybe we could get it out of the classroom and every media source. I'm sure my public library has more books on climate change than Christianity, especially for children.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/democrat-sen-mazie-hirono-believe-in-climate-change-as-though-its-a-religion/

https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/09/climate-change-as-religion-seminary-students-confess-their-sins-to-plants-in-ritual/

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2015/10/22/religion-and-views-on-climate-and-energy-issues/

The party of Woke

Deval Patrick, recently of Bain Capital and Fox Business News, newly declared Democrat candidate for chief oligarch, states he loves that his party is moving further to the left. Indeed, we see that being played out in the hearings whereby the Democrats attempt to undo the election of 2016 and destroy the Constitution by inventing crimes, a system well known by leftists (Communists, Fascists, Socialists, statists of all stripes).

On MSNBC: “First of all, I love that the party has moved to the left. I love that we are the party of the woke,” Patrick said. “I believe that we also have to be the party of the still waking, and I have always conducted my personal life and my business life . . . yada yada" Strange talk for a wealthy venture capitalist.

By "still waking" I suppose he means more Antifa riots and college protests to silence conservatives, forcing women to accept men in their athletic events and locker rooms, destroying public schools with radicalized teachers, open borders for the 75 different nationalities entering the U.S. in the south including terrorists and trafficked children, full rights to our social safety net for illegal aliens, shredding the first amendment rights, confiscating guns from private citizens while allowing them for criminals, confiscatory green taxes to fill the wallets of government bureaucrats, reduction and weakening of the military, more sexual abuse of children aka transgendering through surgery and chemical castration and stealing your assets through a wealth tax.

Have the holidays been cancelled?

Our son who has brain cancer has decided that this year we won’t celebrate November birthdays, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.  Of course, we are disappointed, but he needs to be careful about viruses.

But that set me to thinking about other unusual holidays.  Our son Stanley died on February 13, and we were receiving Valentine cards and sympathy cards in the same mail drop. Our son Patrick died shortly before Thanksgiving, so that holiday in 1964 was pretty much a blur.  I can’t even remember if we made the trip to Mt. Morris or stayed in Champaign.

 Stanley, Christmas 1962

Bob's mother, grandmother, Aunt Babe, Aunt Bert

And my dear Mother, always one for stern advice, warned me not to let bad memories interfere with future enjoyment of holidays.  It was wise advice, especially since I didn’t know she especially cared about holidays, which were always rather low keyed in my family, compared with my husband’s family blow outs and budget busting gifts.

Christmas both of those years was just awful.  My sisters had adorable toddlers the same age as Stanley, which we needed to admire and coo about while remembering an earlier Christmas with Mom and Dad beaming holding 3 babies. I have a few photos from those years and I look like death warmed over, as we used to say in the 20th century.

 Our final Christmas in our home of 34 years, 2001

Thanksgiving 2009

                               
Another holiday alone memory is the fall of 1957.  My college roommate, JoElla, and I decided we would just stay on campus for Thanksgiving and not face that 6 hour drive back to Illinois. We could relax, read, maybe go to a movie and catch up on laundry.  What a disaster!  We had no idea how deserted and lonely the campus would be, or how everything would be closed and we’d eat cold food in our dorm room.  By Christmas I was so homesick I could barely function.

Then there was the year that my sister and I decided we’d do something totally different for the holidays because our adult children were squabbling with each other—I don’t even remember the year—sometime in the early 2000s—or what the disputes were.  By comparison with this year, they were certainly minor. So we got together at Rehoboth Beach and had Thanksgiving dinner at a lovely hotel known for that event.

For years we shared and alternated our winter holidays with our son in law’s parents in Cleveland. I think we ate alone in a restaurant or would drive to Indianapolis to have dinner with Bob’s family—usually a huge crowd and that often made us feel even more lonely because by that time some of our nieces and nephews were grandparents and we couldn’t even identify some of the people.

And Oh My.  The years I cancelled at the last minute our plans to drive to Illinois to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with my parents.  One of us would always seem to come down with a cold and it would go through the family so I’d cancel the 10 hour trip. And guiltily I confess, that I often wasn’t too sad, because what looked like a fabulous idea during Indian Summer in October’s bright colors didn’t look so great in the ice and snow of late December.  Mom was always understanding and gracious—not to worry, they would drive to Oregon and eat at the nursing home with my grandparents.

Again the holidays of 2017-18 were really bad.  Our daughter had planned a great neighborhood football party, the invitations were out, the food was prepared, and their sweet little Chihuahua Abby died very suddenly. It was a horrible shock.  We were all devastated, especially since in the previous 3 months Phil’s dear Rosa and our Lotsa Spotsa had died and it was like opening a raw wound.  At the last minute, the five of us did get together, enjoyed the food, and watched the game. We cried and laughed and helped each other get through a very bad time. It was momentary—you don’t get over a tragedy just by enjoying a few laughs and some great food.  But it helps.

The early Americans were still thankful for their good harvest in spite of all their losses, and Jesus was still born in a manger in Bethlehem to be setting out for the cross years later.  We’ll remember what holidays are about and will be thankful for our hope which is in the Lord, and for modern technology and drugs which will battle this disease for us.