Toys for Tots

The Miracles keep coming.

We went to Toys for Tots to volunteer, planning to spend about ten hours - much like last year. When we arrived this year, the help was down to three people working like dogs. We pitched in and ten hours soon turned into much more. I sorted, hauled and on Saturday, helped give out the bags. On Monday, I gave out nearly 250 bags all by myself.

Now the way the system works is that a parent or guardian comes in right after Thanksgiving and registers their children. They need to prove residency and guardianship. They are given a yellow copy that has their name, children’s ages and sex, a date and time for pick up, and a number on the bottom. They are told to bring the slip and picture ID back on the day and time written on the paper. If someone else is picking up, write a note on the slip giving the name of the person they authorize to get their stuff. Pretty simple. Not so much!

The white copy goes in the back, the names etc are transferred to large bags and those bags are filled from stock with stuff that is appropriate for ages and sex on bag. The bags are lined up according to the numbers in sequence. When finished a day’s pick up fills a good sized store from front to back. Each pick up day has 500 bags and we did 5 pickup days this year. We served over 4000 kids, up from 3000 last year. All this takes volunteers and this year volunteers were in pretty short supply.

Then on pick up day, most people are tremendously grateful. Some are ashamed, some are expecting to be treated like dirt and some are just zoned out of human contact. I try and make them feel welcome and I always say Merry Christmas when I give them the bag. Most people say Thank You or Merry Christmas right back. 97% leave with a lighter step than they came in with.

But of course about 3% were ugly, unhappy at what they got or mad because they didn’t have ID or the slip or were at the wrong time and we didn’t fix it for them. By Monday at noon I was pretty tired and starting to lose a lot of good cheer. I was starting to think that maybe next year I would stick to the ten hours no matter what.

Then a woman walked in with an adorable 5 year old girl. As she walked up to me and I said, “Merry Christmas How can I help you?” the woman handed me the slip and said, ” This is a present for you.” On the back in the best five year old hand imaginable was a picture of Santa Claus doing – well Santa Claus stuff. I looked down and said,” Thank you. This is the nicest picture I’ve ever seen.” The smile was reward enough, but when I returned and handed the bag to the mother, the little girl gave me the biggest hug I’ve ever had, even from third graders. As she left the store, she turned and said ,”Thank you.” and waved. Right then I thought everything was worthwhile and next year I’ll be right there again for as long as it takes.

That night, as God and I reviewed the day, I couldn’t help think that if Cancer, insanity and all the other awful things had not happened to me, I would not have grown to the point where I would even have been in that room that day. Would that little girl’s experience have been different? Maybe not, maybe so.

And once again, had a teacher appeared at just the right moment to tell me that I was still on the right path? Did God get two miracles for the price of one on Monday?

FLYING SANTAS

Jesus had it easy. He didn’t need to put up Christmas decorations. Don’t get me wrong, I love our house at Christmas. It is filled with sparkling colors, freshness and once and a while the fantastic smells of evergreen and oatmeal, with just the hint of chocolate.

Nor is the outside slighted. We put up the message we would like to share with the world. We have a large Nativity scene and a gigantic sign that says simple “Peace”. This year we added the final touch, a large angel with a trumpet that sits on our roof above the Nativity. Above it all, in our attic window. is a three foot red star my father made in 1928. Outside of the possible theological implications of shoving a 60 watt bulb up Joseph’s rear end, Beautiful!!!

Perfection!!!!

And then, just like an overzealous plumber, we cranked it a quarter turn to far. Or to be exact, our idea was good, but our execution was awful. We have looked for The Praying Santa, a statue of Santa kneeling by the Crib, for years. We have found spectacular examples from 3 to 10 inches high. Lovely, but slightly small for an outdoor display. Or one spectacular outdoor staue for a mere $3600.

Then, we found it. The perfect looking , four foot tall outdoor display, complete with 100 sparkling lights. We ordered it from the catalogue, and it arrived within several days.

Not what was expected. It was a thin plastic picture, infiltrated with a 100 tiny lights and supported with coat hanger wire, anchored to the ground with thin metal clips. When plugged in, the lights disguised it completely. No problem, we will not plug it in. Simply light it with a flood light. I took it outside, stapled it to the ground, spread strings of colored lights around the base and set a flood light on it. Not bad.

Then, the wind started. Shortly, Santa was taking a dip in our front yard fountain. Well, it was awfully windy. Santa was set back in place. The next morning, decidedly wind free, I left for a walk. Santa was visiting the next door neighbors. Just friendly. I retrieved him and set him back in place, double stapled this time. When I returned from my walk, Santa was trying to commit suicide by laying in the driveway until someone ran over him.

By now, the statues on the porch were starting to smirk and the angel had dropped her trumpet and grabbed her head. Revenge for those 60 watt bulbs???

VACATION CRUISE TO ARUBA, PANAMA COSTA RICA

On November 9th, Kay tried to sleep on the couch but failed. I went to bed and slept a few hours. We were both awake by 1 AM. We drove to Shafer's, got on a bus, traveled to Newark, made it through security, onto plane and into Fort Lauderdale buy 1 PM. Since the ship had several cases of Norwalk Flue , it was sanitized. This took an extra five hours and meant we could not board the ship as planned. They put us up in the convention center, provided buses to a nearby Mall, and fed us well, but it was tiring. We finally got on board about 11 and settled in by 12. We departed at midnight. Seas were ok, We spent the next day wandering and exploring the ship, eating and sitting on deck to read. Giants beat Philly quite badly Sunday night, but we never got to see the game.

The second day was also spent in leisure. We did have a wake up call at 3 in the morning saying the ship was on fire, but that turned out to be a minor event. We arrived in Aruba, toured the island, non impressed. On to Curacao. Since the hurricane had caused us to not visit the Cay where we had planned to horseback ride and ride sea boats, we had some extra money so Kay signed up to swim with Dolphins. I toured this island and was also unimpressed. She had a wonderful time and really enjoyed it.

We then traveled to Panama, woke up early to watch our ship go through the locks, then went on an excursion on Gatun Lake. We went by launch and traveled the length of the lake, visiting sights that allowed us to feed wild monkeys, see Crocodiles, sloths and lots of birds. Part of the tour involved going to a floating restaurant and eating a Panamanian lunch. Very good. We also got to feed some Tamarind, see snakes, Iguanas, Toucans, monkeys and a traditional Panamanian rain storm that looked like the dam had burst. We had a delightful time and really enjoyed this part of Panama.

The boat was moved to Colon, so we had to catch up to it. This meant a land trip of several hours through rural Panama and then into the city of Colon. It struck me as we drew near the ship, that I was in one of the most depressed areas I have ever seen, and less than a mile away were three cruise ships that were throwing away enough food to easily feed the entire area. Back aboard ship, we went to lunch and were seated with a couple who did nothing but bitch about the quality of the food and how bad the service was etc. They were on their 23rd cruise and really could not understand why people got off the boat in these horrible locations.

Anyway, we moved on to Costa Rica where we went zip lining. Two years ago, I would have obsessed and worried about this for so long, I would have been paralyzed for days. This time, I never gave it a thought until that morning. We rode a bus for about an hour while a guide explained about the ecology of Costa Rica and why we should buy only organic bananas. I watched Kay and I am sure my banana bill will be rising dramatically. Anyway, we arrived at the location, were given instructions on how to use our free hand to "brake", what hand instructions we would be given and "be sure you sign the release form before you get on the wagon" the wagon twisted and turned its way up the mountain and when it stopped we went single file up even further. Now I am still not in a state of terror, just a little apprehensive. The line stopped in front of a twelve step stairway that led to a metal platform. Just above the platform was a double zip line. The first person was taken up, attached and zipped out. Now they were zipping away from the platform about twenty feet above my head and I thought, "That's not bad, I can do this." Kay went, then it was my turn. I shot up the stairs, hit the platform and realized I was on the edge of a cliff that dropped 197 feet. Snap, snap and I am hooked into the wire. "Lift feet please" I am dangling 197 feet above trees zipping across a jungle canopy that is somehow below me. Actually, it was a great view and terror was quickly replaced by awe. I crashed into the second platform, was asked if I wanted to continue, was hooked up again and off on a spectacular view of the river a long way below me. this continued through 8 more platforms and lines, ending somehow very near the spot we had boarded the wagon an hour before. It was exhausting, heart pounding and I would do it again in an instant.

Once reunited with the ship, we headed north in very heavy seas. In fact the evening show was canceled because the scenery kept falling over and breaking lights and innocent people standing nearby. We got back to Ft. Lauderdale and were back in Binghamton by 9PM November 19th. It was a great trip, great sights, met some wonderful people, most of them working for the cruise ship, thrilled we did it, but it could rain for forty days and forty nights and as the Ark went by I would just wave, because I am never getting on another ship as long as I live.

The Jump Off

We spent the last few days getting ready for “THE CRUISE”. Somehow this means acquiring large amounts of underwear and socks, planning for each contingency and making sure everything is covered. Then, just when the horseback riding, jet skiing day has been fully covered, the phone rings and guess what? Since the ship is experiencing a break out of Norwalk virus, it will be delayed 7 hours in departing which means we will be sitting on shore an extra five hours and will not be making the first stop to see the horseys. Bummer. Followed quickly by the weather channel expressing concern over the hurricane just forming off the coast of Cuba. Is that anywhere near the Caribbean???

Now here is the amazing part. Three years ago I would be freaking, ready to jump ship. Now, oh well, a new adventure. Wonder how it will turn out?? Can’t wait to see. And the funny part is that no matter how it turns out I will have a good time. With the possible exception of dropping 20000 feet in 4.5 seconds or the cellar springing a leak.

We will still be zip lining through the jungle canopy on one of the days. If the hurricane goes that way, it may provide quite a tail wind. I really am looking forward to that part. Lots of exercise every day and then the forced dinners at night. One chocolate extravaganza at night. Tough, tough work. Oh well!! We should be back by November 20^th. May try and provide pictures. Or video. Or music. Most likely words.

THE NEXT STEP

It appears that sometime Tuesday night, America will elect Barak Obama President. While the campaign has been difficult and demanding, that will be the fun part. Now he has to govern. Rhetoric will have consequences. The single most difficult thing for a President to learn is that EVERYTHING he says will be analyzed for a national security leak or a hidden message to foreign enemies. “Can I have oatmeal for breakfast?”, is a hidden message to the Russians that we are going to increase our oat shipments to Georgia and their only appropriate response is to invade Latvia.

And then there are the critics like Rush Limburger or Rusty Crash Cart that are going to tear everything you do down, no matter what. Pardon the Thanksgiving Turkey, you are soft on crime. Eat the damn thing and you are an evil terrorist, just like we told everyone.

Worse yet will be your friends, the Democratic Majority in Congress. In their minds the vault is open and Christmas is just around the corner. Outside of a very brief period in Franklin Roosevelt’s first term, whenever the President and Congress have been from the same party, it has not worked well.

So, ignore the idiots, put together a cabinet that has Chuck Hagel and Dick Lugar in it, perhaps find a place for McCain, keep Gates in place and explain nicely, “We ain’t got it, so we ain’t spending it!!!” Balance the budget first, save the world second. Lastly, don’t cave into special interests – except the ones I like.

TEACHERS

For the last three years, I have been on a Spiritual Journey. Big deal, so is everyone. Only this is special because it is my spiritual journey. I battled for a long time whether to inflict it on other people, or simple save it for myself. Stay to the end and you will understand my decision.

Three years ago, I ran across a statement that caught my ear, but at the time meant little more than a nice sounding chant. “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, not because he has been sent, but because he was always there.” Nothing in this trip to where I am has been straight forward or clear, always it seems accidental and capricious. There has been no connect the dots, yet looking back the dots are clear. Well, this entry is about my latest teacher and why there will be more entries.

Last week we took a bus trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. To be honest, neither of us felt much like going that day. Kay has been really sick for three weeks and being on a bus and boat for much of the day held no special joy for me. But the trip was paid for, it must have seemed like a good idea at some point in the past, so we sucked it up and went. And it was a very enjoyable trip. But by the time we reached Charlie Brown’s Steak House for dinner that night, we were tired, achy, chilled, not hungry and had an energy level that would not have run a toy train.

To make dinner especially enjoyable, we were the last people off the bus so we were the last to enter the dining room. The only table left was occupied by an elderly man who introduced himself in heavily accented Spanish as Raoul. Now, shamefully, my first reaction was, “Oh great. I can’t hear – he can’t talk – maybe I could just plead illness and go sit on the bus.” But quickly, the new improved Gorf .2 took over and my mind supplied, “ This is the only real moment there is, engage it, enjoy it, release the fear and embrace the miracle.” What followed was one of the most entertaining and engaging meals I have shared in many months. Raoul was a retired doctor, who had become an author and an art collector of some note including donations to Cornell Universities Art Department. He had led a fascinating life as researcher, teacher and practitioner. He was delightful, but not my teacher until he turned to me and said, “You should write your story. It doesn’t matter if no one reads it, if it never makes any money. It is about the passion within you that counts.” Since I had never mentioned wanting to write a grocery list, much less a story, this kind of shocked me. That “learnable moment” was happening again.

So dear reader, if you are out there, over the next few months, I plan to share the miracle moments of the last few years. If they help someone else, great. If they do not, it will still give me great joy to write them.

We have only this moment that is real. No amount of quilt or worry or wishing will change a moment in the past. But what we release in this moment, may effect a moment in the future. If I release hate and anger and judgment now, it will return to me in a later moment. If I release love, compassion, understanding and joy in this moment, that also will return to me in a later moment.

I spent the last several walks, writing a great blotg about why Obama was the correct choice for President. I would explain why, despite respect for John McCain, I was disappointed in his performance and his readiness to be President. Then I watched Colin Powell on Meet the Press and what could I possibly add or improve on? So if anyone cares what I think, go see Mr. Powell.
On a much more joyful note, I attended the wedding of a third grade student on Saturday. Not that she is presently a third grader, but at one time we shared 40 weeks in the same place, or more accurately 80 weeks because she was in a class I carried into fourth grade. I was always very fond of her, she was smart, not afraid to back up and look at things from an odd point of view, and apparently, I made an impression on her. She was kind enough to invite us to her wedding. The ceremony was held in the General Clinton Park in Bainbridge and was beautiful. The reception in Sidney, was about 1/4 mile from our old apartment on river road.
On the way to the reception, we swung by the River Road apartment. Several years ago, I broke in (actually the door was open so I just wandered in) and it was being used for storage and had turned it into a dump. the whole thing was kind of heartbreaking. Yesterday, it looked like someone had repainted it and there were curtains on the windows, so perhaps it is seeing happier days.
Today was just a day at the zoo helping out with the little kids. Adorable but cold. Then home to find the Giants had won yeah Eli.

JOE THE PLUMBER

I think Barack Obama made a big mistake last night. When addressing Joe, the plumber, he should have looked directly into the camera and said,” Joe, if you are earning $250,000 a year or more, your best interests are served by voting for John McCain.”

Despite being labeled “Joe the plumber – mister every guy” and wearing T shirts for interviews, anyone earning $250,000 is not the average American. What has consistently amazed me, has been the ability of the Republican party to get people struggling to get by, to work so hard to protect the welfare of the wealthy who always benefit from a Republican victory.

As to the claim Obama wants to redistribute Joe’s wealth downward to the less well off , the McCain policy will also redistribute the wealth -- upward to the Joe plumbers , that are struggling so hard to get by on their $250,000 a year income.

On a very negative note, when Joe was asked about his contact with Obama, he said,” He was as good a tap dancer as Sammy Davis Junior.” Now Joe is pretty young and that might have been completely innocent, but in the 50s or 60’s any reference to being like Sammy Davis Junior was often code for a racist remark. How much of that spills into the voting booth is worrisome.

Celtic Thunder and Sarah Palin

Celtic Thunder opened their North American Tour in Binghamton Friday night. The show started with a flourish with very promising visual effects, strong rhythmic drumming and a powerful opening number. The musicians were excellent, the setting encouraging and the substance – just not up to it.

The vocalists were extremely talented --- and extremely raw. In five or six years each of these artists could be really big stars, but they are not ready yet. They hit all their marks at all the right times, but it was clear they were hitting marks and counting their timing. Nothing was natural, nothing flowed. There were some excellent moments, but some flat ones as well.

And to be honest, the show itself seemed disconnected. When one of the old Celtic Standards is “Puppy Love” you have to scratch your head. And when a series of songs are upbeat and the audience is starting to get involved, why follow with a slow sad ballad?

Thursday night saw Sarah Palin come to our TV. The debate also started with great promise and to some degree delivered. Sarah may also be a big star in five or six years, but her time has not yet come. She hit all her marks, had her timing down, had some very good moments, but also had some “Palin Speak” moments. They sounded good, but on closer examination, were slightly incoherent. I think of the quote attributed to Eisenhower, “Things are more like they are today, than they have ever been before.” Profound but puzzling.

I did think both people enjoyed being there and appreciated and respected the other side. Refreshing. Then Sarah went on the attack Saturday with the “Paling around with terrorists” stuff and she just looked desperate and mean. Too bad.

Original Sin

When I was young I was told that Original Sin was Eve swiping an apple and God getting really angry and throwing Eve and poor Adam out of the house. Now, if God got that pissed off over an apple, imagine if he ever found out about those two cookies I pilfered the night before. No way did I want an up close and personal meeting with God!!

Then, when I aged a bit, I was led to believe the “forbidden fruit” was sex . Since I had spent every day wishing for X ray glasses, this was not a happy discovery. I was screwed, in a very nonphysical sense.

Life passed, stuff happened and I found every core belief I held was stirred, shaken and mashed. I could choose to die in the spirit or live in the spirit. I began to read, to talk to people, to question and to meet God on a different level. He was quite happy to bring miracles into my life. An old proverb of some group says, “When the student is ready a teacher will appear, not because he was sent, but because he was always there.” And in the last three years, at the most incredible times and places, teachers have appeared.

The first thing I came to believe was that Original Sin had nothing to do with fruit or celebration; and everything to do with Judgment. Before, the knowledge of good and evil was present in the world, people wanted for nothing, feared nothing and lived in total peace. Everyone was equal, nothing was “wrong” or “right”. Once Eve decided something was “good”, then by extension, other things were “wrong” and needed “fixing”. Now, fear entered the world and with it anger, because anger is always fear in disguise. If some were “good enough” others must “not be good enough”

Not with anger, but with great sadness, God closed the doors and chucked man into what we now have. And sadly, we brought judgment with us. The most insidious cruel form is when you decide you know what someone else is feeling, or what they “really” mean. To appreciate it in its cruelest form listen to Rush on the radio, or to the church that tells you why certain of “those” people will burn forever.

And I am astounded that the most judgmental people I have ever met are the first to tell you how open minded and nonjudgmental they are.