Failing Up

 It's ironic we "drop the ball" on the New Year right from the start! 
New Year's Eve a time to say goodbye to a year that  most are happy to see end.  Yet, 364 days ago we were eager to welcome.  It seems the old year gets a cold send off and the New Year is always full of hope and peace and weight loss.  And Yet.. well?  New Year's Eve is everyday when we go to sleep and start the next one with hope. 

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As I walked in into the grocery store today,  I noticed the Christmas decorations, and music still playing, yet something was different?  It then hit me!! All the hustle and frantic rush was no gone.  Instead, people were walking like zombies from "Dawn of the Dead."  Wandering ungroomed in whatever clothes they could find. Survivors! 

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During this season of celebration and tradition, based on peace and love, I just don't understand why it can't stick?  Why is peace, so elusive, and viewed as weak in the face of aggression.  I think of the courage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela,  John Lennon, Jesus and many more who suffered for peace, and died for it.  Why is hate and violence so natural, and love so foreign? I recall the famous silent night during World War I, when the fighting halted and the two armies celebrated Christmas Eve.  In the Christmas song by the  Royal Guardsman, as the Red Barron, says to Snoopy: "Merry Christmas my friend." "They will meet on some other day." This season  brings out this out, yet it gets put away with decorations.  

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What would it be like to have a day without a phone, or computer?  Would I be able to read a paper map to find my destination?   Would I be able to use my mind to write, and spell and research without google?  What would it be like to interact with people not my screen for information?  Could I get through? 

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Every year in the beginning of December we get in our car drive to the woods cut down a thirteen foot monster of a tree. We then shove it in our house water it so it does not die quickly, cover it with electronic lights and wires, hang glass, and after thirteen hours of swearing and  work, we sit back and stare at it for three weeks.  We then repeat the process in reverse!!! Merry Christmas! 

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Technology has become so advanced and we dependent on it.  From google maps, to Siri, to spell check, to self checkouts, we interact with software and not people.  The iPhone is our appendage, and our fingers have become our mouth and ears.   Who controls it all?  I miss talking!!

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is a holiday of gratitude where memories come alive through a wide variety of foods.  Based on family, friends, and food. The basics. 
Memories so  vibrant they transform us back in time.  A day with regional dishes served and love shared.  A day not hindered by the stress of commercialization.  It is the calm before the storm.  All is good until Santa gets to Macy's.  A day when those less fortunate in some cases feel the love through community meals.  And a day where those suffering are remembered.   Happy Thanks Giving!!!!

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I have always been moved by the beautiful culture of Native American's.  The value that is place on all of nature living in harmony, respecting elders , family, community, and their spirituality. Wonderful ceremony and music, dance, beautiful outfits.    Also, this is a land that was taken from them supposedly by civilized people.  There are similarities to the Irish and that is why I feel this bond. Both were invaded by and colonized. Told not to speak their native language, and had land taken,  That is why the Choctaw Indians of Oklahoma sent money to the Irish during the Great Famine. It has been said that only thing that separates Native Americans from the Irish is the ocean. 
 I believe if those that settled learned from these beautiful people  instead of take, we would be in a better place today. 

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As the Christmas season falls upon us, so does the 24/7 showing of the Christmas Hallmark programs. These cookie cutter programs have become as addictive as cocaine laced candy canes for those that can't turn away. The same theme, the same towns the same same!  Even when they try to be diversified they are the same!  I believe there is some subliminal message that is dividing our nation and threating our democracy!  In the name of national security, these programs must be stopped! 

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In this episode I reflect on the dangerous (ha)  era that I grew up  in.  There were no bicycle helmets, car seats, we had candy cigarettes, seatbelts were optional. Don't get me started on how our temperature was taken!!  And there was no bottled water!! My grandparents would have thought I was crazy running to the store to buy water?  We drank from the garden hose!!! 

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