From the Observation Deck

I was as giddy as a school kid when the weather guys started calling for a big snow storm last week. A white Christmas is a beautiful gift. I grew up in Pennsylvania where we got plenty of snow and each year got a couple of snow days. Those are the best. An unexpected day off to go play and sled and drink hot chocolate and watch the snowflakes fall. Can you tell I love it? Here in northern Virginia we get mostly rain and ice. So this was a super treat. I won’t even complain of the near heart-attack pain that I experienced shoveling it all off my path and car.

One thing that is annoying though is the media. As I was watching the newscasts I heard one reporter say the word “panic” three times. It went something like, “People here at the Giant are really panicking Larry.” I looked up the word panic and the definition is “a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior.” Seriously you overly dramatic newscasters, there was no one acting hysterically on the camera. In fact every person that they interviewed was calm and smiling.

Many of us are from the north and know how to deal with snowstorms, but the difference is, up north they have lots of plows and resources to deal with snow. Personally, I’m glad I went to the store because I was not plowed out for three days. Would I have died without milk? No, but it sure was nice having that hot chocolate after shoveling two feet of snow off my car. But next time I’m going to go to the store earlier. There was almost no meat on the shelf. Well, there was something called Bison meat which I had never seen before. Say it with me folks…Bison meat? Yup, and I hear it tastes like chicken.

Grendel spent the day going in and out hopping through the snow making yellow marks here and there and playing with his BFF, Elwood. Boy did they have fun. Grendel loves the snow and gets about as giddy as I do. Well, that’s my blizzard story. It’s almost all gone now so hopefully we’ll see a few more flakes before spring comes.

And I just want to give a big thanks and shout out to my nice neighbors for helping with the shoveling. You guys are great!

BFFs Grendel and Elwood playing in the snow.

Grendel goes hopping through the snow while I look for my car.

Scooby, Zenia's new puppy, loves the snow, too.

There is a house I pass every day on my commute and for the past seven years I have enjoyed viewing the abundance of decorations that are placed all around the house and yard for every major holiday throughout the year. I’m sad to say though that this year the house is dark.

I don’t know the people who live there but I feel like I’ve lost a good friend. They were dependable, ya know? I mean the flags came out in the summer; the eggs, bunnies, and Cross came out at Easter; the ghosts and goblins came out for Halloween; the scarecrow came out in November; and well, everything came out at Christmas.

I hope the decoration people are okay. But there is a positive side to this tale of gaudy decoration gurus. A little ways down the road from the now dark house, a new decoration guy has emerged. These people make me want to scream wahooo! Seriously—lights galore, blow up Santa and snowmen, wrapped gifts in the yard, and the piece de resistance is the blow up manger scene. I heart the new decoration people. Thanks for making my commute home so enjoyable.

I just read somewhere—sorry can’t remember where so you’ll have to trust me on this—that Americans spend a total of $185,000 on stamps for letters to Santa. Let’s think about that for a minute. So an average household with young children spends a few cents each year on these letters to Santa. That’s what we call sofa change.

Now I know that the post office needs the cash to support its operations and that this money is important revenue for them. Having said that, I can think of a lot of charities, families, and poverty-stricken kids who could use a fraction of that 185 grand. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2008 14.1 million American children lived below the poverty level. Without debate as to what is considered poverty, whether compared to other Americans or the rest of the world, the fact is that kids living in our communities are suffering.

So let’s do some math. $185,000 divided by 44¢ equals approximately 450,500 stamps (or letters). If all of the 14.1 million poor kids were to receive a holiday gift that costs approximately $13 (maybe some shoes, a coat, a toy), than we would need to multiply that postage cost by about 1,000. It may seem like a lot, but if everyone gave, not just those with little kids, then we could make a difference (albeit small) in a child’s life this season.

So, here is what I would suggest. Just some things you may want to think about this season.

• Drop a dollar into the Salvation Army bucket outside the supermarket. It’s only a dollar to you, but it could add up if everyone gives. Or make an online donation right now.
• Don’t put a stamp on that letter to Santa. Instead, ask your child to put part of his allowance toward a charity so some other child could get a gift.
• Take one of the many toys meant for your child and give it to the Marines, or the Salvation Army, or the church near your house, or any of the charities that help kids and families who are struggling.
• Buy a few extra cans of food at the supermarket next time you go and donate them to a shelter.

There are many things that all of us can do that cost so little but could add up to so much. So go ahead and look in your sofa cushions, you need to clean up for the in-laws anyway, right? May your holidays be filled with grace and generosity.