This week I participated in my rotary club “Christmas for Kids” toy collection, wrapping and delivery. I know, the first thought that comes to your mind when I say rotary club is a bunch of old semi-out of shape guys in a club at noon hearing silverware clank as most of the chatter of the old guys discussing current events, politics and portfolios. That might be true in some clubs, but not mine. My club is made up of some very energetic top-notch professional young men and women of all walks of life who inspire me and others more than they know. Knowing my age, I can see a few raised eyebrows (later topic) happening right now so ok, just to be clear, there are a few old guys like me mixed in the club to keep things from getting too “hip”. If you must quibble, I do not really count myself as old yet, and yes, it is debatable as to whether I am in shape or not but I will save that blog for next year. There will be lots to discuss after Christmas in regards to my physical conditioning, especially after I have stuffed my face with every edible food group in site. The edible food groups I am referring to are chocolate pie, no bake cookies, pecan pie, turkey and dressing. We all know that Turkey and dressing count as one, so I might eat a vegetable with heavy emphasis on “A”.
Each year, my club raises money for a shelter for women with children that are trying exit an abusive relationship. Many times, these women have nowhere to go with their kids and this charity does a wonderful job of getting these women back on the right track. The money that we raise generally goes towards operating expenses such as housing and utilities. I’m pretty sure that most of the workers are volunteer, so pretty much every one works there, works there out of the goodness of their heart. With that being said, there is little money left over in their personal budget for Christmas gifts for children and that’s where my club steps in.
I’ve never been a child that had to worry about whether Santa Clause would come visit me on Christmas eve, thankfully my parents shielded me from that type of stress, although I get the suspicion that there were a few Christmas’s with such a large family and little to no discretionary income available that my parents may have had some hidden some of their fears masterfully. I’ve also never been a parent that had to worry about providing Santa Clause to my own kids. Needless to say, I have been blessed and certainly don’t take these things for granted. Me, and everyone in my family may not have gotten everything on our Santa wish list every year but looking to the past and the present, we’ve had some damn fine Christmas’s.
I write all this to explain that after I was away from the shelter of a workforce. I felt somewhat directionless because I had always used the corporate beliefs and their charitable contributions as my own. In hindsight, this was a mistake. Because my employer was so generous with charities, so generous in erecting angel trees in five thousand different locations every year, I felt like I was a part of doing something special when in truth, I didn’t do anything. I simply rode the wave of goodwill that my employer offered. I will say that I always dropped change in the red kettle every time I walked by one and I felt good about it. I helped erect Angel trees in so many different stores and I felt a warm heart as I did it. I thought I was giving back but again, I was doing nothing.
It’s different now, I actually get out and raise money. I actually ring the bell the Salvation Army bell and watch coins being dropped in the kettle as opposed to dropping coins in myself. It’s a real eye opener when you finally see your actions for what they are, superficial or genuine. Don’t get me wrong, I am never fake, far too often I am a little too blunt and overbearing for my own good so “fake” and me have never been friends. As I am out hustling trying to secure gifts for these kids by way of donations or direct gift giving, I feel different. It’s hard to explain but it really feels like I am receiving more than I get and I like that feeling. I guess that saying of “to whom much is given, much is expected” is true. Here is the part that always gets me though…
Ringing that bell for the salvation army has given me an optic view from a place that I should have visited a long time ago, viewing the generosity of others up close and personal. Not to brag but I am not a shy bell ringer, actually I’m a dang good bell ringer and when I see you coming, you are getting a big ole smile and a very loud “Merry Christmas” greeting. When I see you leaving the building you get a loud “Thank you” as if I am the greeter for that big blue retailer…and with that thank you, you get another very loud “Merry Christmas”. I love waiting for a reply or the facial reaction. Sometimes I get nothing in return and I don’t mind, I figure I gave it a shot but I would have to say nine times out of ten I get a smile and greeting back.
I don’t want to get too far off message here, but I have to admit that masks have made facial expressions very tough to read so I am working on my Direct Eye Brow Identification Technique (DEBIT). It’s a work in progress and very complicated. There are many variables like; some people smile so big under those masks that the natural eye brow is forced up towards their hair line and that’s an easy one to identify, I just love those people. I believe that when you can see a happy mood under a mask, that’s a damn happy person. Now, the cosmetic eyebrows, you know…the ones that have been beautifully painted on, (I don’t judge) are tricky because they don’t always adjust naturally with normal facial expression. They often go in unexpected directions, giving a false reading. I will have to do a great deal more research on this in order to be more accurate in my assessment. I am very open to advice and feedback on this particular identification problem. To me though, the most difficult are the bushy eye brows. I am really struggling to interpret the person’s mood as that huge clump of hair above the eyes tends to overpower and dominate any facial movements, happy or sad. I don’t know that this type of eye brow can be read accurately. I will let you know. Ok, back to the point…
I write all this to say that generally people are good and decent regardless of what you see on tv. As I was ringing the bell this year, I saw several mom’s that had multiple kids with her, two in the shopping cart and usually one trying their best to help her push the cart. She would stop, dig into her bag and pockets to extract enough change so that each child can drop something into the kettle. Each child would smile and look up at me as their handful of loose change drops in the kettle. In my opinion, there is no smile greater and more gratifying than that of a happy child. Mom just taught all her kids the lesson of “too whom much is given, much is expected.” I also had an encounter with an older man in a “veterans” baseball cap that signified his service on the naval ship USS Intrepid, reach for his wallet with his shaking hands, pull out a fifty-dollar bill, fold it nicely and stuffed it in the kettle as he said, “God bless you son”, then he smiled and finished with “Happy Holidays”. Moments like those leave me to ponder the question, do I really need any more Christmas gifts this year? Nah… I’m good.