I caught on by looking at the two newspapers delivered at my door this morning.  They were thin and the material in them was sort of tired and old.  The advertisers were saving their money and there seemed to be to be no life in the news.  Everything was on hold until Santa delivered up all the gifts people brought and the BIG DAY, Christmas, was in process of bringing good things to many and not enough to even more.  Our affluent life style included the unabashed diamond studded jewelry for her and the toys men like for them.  The kids, unfortunately were conflicted, if they had been listening to the news, because they may have been gifted with leaded toys that could cause brain damage – beyond that we have imposed on them by miss-education and a dream of a world that does not exist.

I am not talking utopia here.  Kids are smart.  They realize that where they are brought up and how they are treated will be their future.  Those that are well off now will expect society to deliver later.  Those in poverty do not really know how bad they are off until hunger, cold and threat of death make them aware that others are better off and they are, well, where they are. I am not anticipating utopia but I have the good fortune to be warm when it is cold and cool when it is hot.  I have a roof over my head and if we do not cook in, we eat out.  I am anticipating a gathering of family in a hotel up in Palm Beach for the marriage of my eldest grand-son – so life is good.  We already had our first great-granddaughter who is now almost six months old and are glad the kids, her parents, will bring her to the wedding.

Didja notice that the day before Christmas is sort of quiet.  It is a work day for some but a radio personality expressed the thought this morning that employers just should have declared a day off for workers – even if things had slowed down to a crawling pace – because that was the spirit of this Holy day or “holiday” as we say in the vernacular.

That brings up another subject.  While all of those lucky enough to have the where-withal to loaf at home on Christmas Eve, others are out working for their bosses need their labor in order to keep the businesses and cash-flow operating. They do this  in order to lubricate the faltering economy that suffers from the great sucking sound of money being siphoned out of the U.S. over to Iraq and Afghanistan and small impoverished nations holding out their hands for more.

Didja notice that while you and I converse through the magic of computers and e-mail there are the street people who do not know what we know and have no place to get warm and most of all, to eat and a place to relieve themselves?