Post Scripts

May your Christmas be filled with lots of happiness, peace and love… oh and lots of presents 🙂

I know we have another Christmas greeting up here, but when it comes to Christmas
wishes, well, you just can’t have too many of them!  lol

From Jack and Tina

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

From Jack and Tina
To each and every one of you,
Have a wonderful day!

Posted by Tina

I’ve always agreed that laughter is good medicine. In these days of civic division and oppression from our governments it’s fitting and wise to keep a sense of humor always at hand. Not only does laughter relieve the tensions of the day and refresh the spirit but it also reminds us that in all circumstances no one can take the most important thing, our God given selves, from us…unless we willingly turn it over.

Kathryn Jean Lopez has a wonderful piece about freedom, tolerance, and the value of a sense of humor. Find it over at Natioanal Review. She begins with quotes from Bob Newhart.

Humor “makes us free.”

That was Bob Newhart’s observation during a commencement address at my alma mater, the Catholic University of America in 1997. “As long as the tyrant cannot control the minds of free men, they remain free,” the comedian continued. “Humor abounded behind the Iron Curtain and in POW camps. Humor is also our way of dealing with the inexplicable. We had an earthquake a couple of years ago in Los Angeles, and it wasn’t more than three or four days later that I heard the first earthquake joke. Someone said, ‘The traffic is stopped, but the freeways are moving.'”

“Laughter gives us distance,” he went on to say.

Newhart continued:

It allows us to step back from an event over which we have no control and deal with it and then move on with our lives. It helps distinguish us from animals. No matter what hyenas sound like, they are not actually laughing. It also helps define our sanity. The schizophrenic has no sense of humor. His world is a constantly daunting, unfriendly place. The rational man is able to find humor in his.

These days at times it seems we have all lost a sense of humor. Our problems have multiplied and the solutions have become points of contention and anger more than opportunities for repair and renewal. Even our nation’s charter is under attack by people who seek more controlling forms of government and civility. Our citizens are being manipulated and pulled away from the morality that grounded us in tolerance and ensured our freedom. We must stand together to restore the values of our founding or the only freedom we will have left will be in our minds, in whispered exchanges, and of course, in moments of release when we take comfort in wry, stinging wit.

Activists from the LGBT community recently displayed their intolerance for others by pressuring Bob Newhart to back out of a speaking engagement he had agreed to with a Catholic organization. I don’t blame Bob Newhart for the decision. I do believe this kind of bullying and intolerance is ugly. Mr. Newhart will survive this unwarranted targeting of his business but will we, can we, when those among us profess and seek tolerance from others are so miserable at it themselves? On this Christmas Eve in 2013 it’s something to think about.

Posted by Jack

A honeymooner decided to take a dip in the ocean off the Florida coast, but when rip tides threatened to carry him out to sea,  he almost didn’t make it back.  

Sam Somogyi, who was paddling his surf board nearby and spotted the distressed swimmer.  Same came to the rescue, telling the man to hang on to his board and then he guided the exhausted man to shore and just as quickly left the scene.   He might have remained unknown if a local TV station hadn’t track the teen down. 

by E Barry,

Meet Luci—she’s a compact, waterproof, very cool-looking solar-powered lantern on a big mission to provide affordable and portable light to those who play or live “off the grid.” From recreational campers, to those in the aftermath of a natural disaster, to the Samburu tribe in a remote part of Africa, the makers of the Luci say, “Let there be light!” The CEO and co-founder of MPowerD Jacques-Philippe Piverger believes his little light will help change the world.

Piverger said generally people who live off the grid use kerosene or wood for light, which not only impacts the environment but also compromises health and safety. He also estimates people typically spend $5-$20 a month on fuel for their kerosene lamps.

“As long as we can provide a product within that, they’re saving a hundred dollars the first year. And for people who make $2-$3 a day that’s significant,” said Piverger.

Posted by Tina

If you enjoy the music of America’s great composers and if you are fond of traditional Christmas music you will want to listen as Mark Styne interviews Mary Ellin Barrett, daughter of the great composer, Irving Berlin. Find the podcast here. This special gift would be great company during last minute baking or gift wrapping. It isn’t likely that we will enjoy a “White Christmas” here in Chico but for a few moments we can dream and in the process learn a bit about one of America’s great song writers.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

U.S. Statistics reveal that the United States holds 25% of the world’s prison population, but only 5% of the world’s people. From less than 300,000 inmates in 1972, the jail population grew to 2 million by the year 2000. In 1990 it was one million. Ten years ago there were only five private prisons in the country, with a population of 2,000 inmates; now, there are 100, with 62,000 inmates. It is expected that by the coming decade, the number will hit 360,000, according to reports.

Posted by Tina

In the days before Christmas, as our nations suffers division and derision, a quote:

Our culture has accepted two huge lies.  The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them.  The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do.  Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate. – Pastor Rick Warren

To heal our nation we must first acknowledge the lies. Then we must resolve to respect the opinions and rights we share and begin to live by the golden rule: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. – Mathew 7: 12

There are times when people focus so strongly on a perceived wrong that they fail to acknowledge a greater blessing. America is an incredibly tolerant, inclusive, and generous nation.