Rudolph the Raging Red-Nosed Reindeer
“We can’t all be sunshine and puppy dogs all the time,” wrote Raging Red in response to my blog entry explaining why I’d taken a week off from writing my column. My explanation recounted how, after spending a few days typing in Gazette Charities Christmas Fund stories for our website–cases involving hardships and sadnesses most of us can’t even fathom–I developed a case of the blues so severe I felt incapable of writing something upbeat. So I skipped a week.
“Why not write something that’s not upbeat if you’re not feeling upbeat that week?” Raging Red asked.
Although I was loathe to admit it, RR was right. So determined was I to avoid writing anything that wasn’t upbeat during the holidays that I opted to simply not write at all. It’s the columnist’s equivalent to clamping hands over ears and repeating, “Nah-nah-nah-nah. I can’t hear you.”
So in answer to Raging Red’s challenge, here’s a sampling of what’s been on my mind.
I’ve been upset with those who hit the stores early and emptied the shelves of all the predicted “hot” gifts, then ransomed them back to desperate moms and dads through eBay and Classified ads. There’s something upsetting about those who deliberately set out to profit from a parent’s desire to make their child’s wish come true.
At the same time, though, I was seeing so many who were spending so much, determined to get their offspring every single thing their little hearts desired, even though other children right here in our area didn’t have adequate clothing or a warm place to sleep. I was feeling disheartened by what seemed like a season of excess and greed.
Luckily, it wasn’t long before I witnessed a balancing excess of generosity. A child raised to have such selfless compassion that he went through his toys and selected only the best to donate to others. Adults who agreed to forgo exchanging gifts with each other and donate to charity instead. Volunteers who missed Christmas parties and time with their families to help care for the needy.
There was some sunshine.
But it was soon clouded over by a few trips to the mall, where I became frustrated with the people who, upon entering a crowded parking building, would hold up traffic for ages to wait for a parking spot. Equally upsetting were those who would take several minutes to get in their car and back out of the spot, even though they knew people were waiting.
On top of that, upon each visit to store dressing rooms, I was finding them piled high with clothes that had been tried on, then tossed on the floor, hung inside out, or ruined with makeup. It began to feel as though consideration for others was a thing of the past.
Then I found myself standing in a long line behind a woman, already laden with bags, struggling to carry a large, awkward item. Those in front of her noticed, and not only did they agree to move her to the front, but a few also helped her carry her load to her car. Another time I watched a woman who, while waiting for her friend, rehung all the spilled clothes on a rack, then neatly refolded some sweaters. When I commented to her about it, she said, “I used to work retail. I know how badly the workers need cut a break about now.”
I still think Raging Red was right. I shouldn’t have hidden out to avoid writing something that wasn’t upbeat. And even though I’m still saddened by how far away Christmas has gotten from the reason we started celebrating the day to begin with, I can’t help trying to hunt out the sunshine and puppies.
Even if they can sometimes be so hard to find.
