Year 1 Days 84 and 85 Getting The Ho Ho Ho In Gear

Usually, when Thanksgiving rolls around and the Christmas music starts playing on the radio 24/7, the spirt of Christmas beings to seep into my soul and yields an uplift in my spirt. Unfortunately, this has not been the case this year. The political events that have taken over this country during this last year have been so upsetting to me by the lack of core values being repeatedly demonstrated that it has weighed very heavy on both I and Mary Margaret. I am especially discouraged by those who claim to be “evangelical” conservative Christians who have taken the attitude of the ends justify the means. They have shown to me that they have forsaken the majority of values that Christians (and most other religions) hold dear in order to achieve a few philosophical political wins in Washington DC. What is going on with the Senate election in Alabama is just one example of this. Sigh.

What the Senate is about to do with the Republican tax bill is another example of where this country is going wrong. Without any debates, they are struggling to pass a bill that has been shown to hurt the core of this country: the middle class. Double sigh.

Given our personal financial situation, we will come out ahead financially if they do pass this bill, but it will hurt those that are less fortunate than us and will strangle the economic future of our grandkids by adding so much burden to this country’s deficit. This is being done by the party that has for decades claimed that they are the ones who can control spending and reduce the deficit and claim to support “family values”. While their bill will reduce spending, it does so on the backs of the less fortunate and yields financial windfalls on those who are already very well off and in the process of doing so will add over a trillion (that is a 1 with 12 zeros after it) to the already too great of a deficit this country has. It is just ass backwards of how things should work in our views. Triple sigh.

With this deep concern for the future of our country weighing on us, we did take a small step forward today in trying to get in the Christmas spirit. By the way, the Christmas spirit for us is one of loving and giving, not one of taking and hoarding.

Our boondocking host, Richard, and his ex-wife, Uta, came over this evening for dinner. While I grilled the steaks, Mary Margaret sautéed some squash and served a delicious salad and scalloped potatoes. This was pared with a very nice Cab that Richard brought. Afterwards, Richard took all of us to the local gaslight theater which was presenting a Christmas show.

It was a hoot to watch and listen to with a talented 7-piece band backing up a host of talented singers and dancers. The range of Christmas songs presented varied from the traditional sung in acapella to classic children’s Christmas music to seasonal songs of rock and roll and more! It was wonderful and very entertaining and uplifting. By the time we were leaving, I could feel the pulse of Christmas running through my veins. Now that’s the spirit! I only hope it can grow with each passing day…