As of late I have been in a borderline crappy mood. What? How can that be? It is Christmas time even in Flalaland, though it seems a bit contrived. Chilly is 65-70 degrees. Santa costumes get hot inside. Bikini clad elves are a sight to see but let’s get real. But it is not just that. 

The world is a mess, to be candid. Peace on earth and goodwill towards men has gotten lost in translation. Middle East, Cuba, and Africa. France,Germany and all things Europe seem to be out of whack. Isn’t there a nice, quiet spot somewhere to just chill?

Our press hasn’t learned a thing in the past few months. Still prattling and losing viewers and readers by the boatload. You can only beat dead horses just so far. Podcasts are the rage if you have an hour or two. Of course I do if I decide not to talk to anyone in a meaningful way. What’s a guy to do?

Welcome to the world of backtracking. Biden wasn’t going to pardon his son and now is doing so for half the country. Trump was going to cut our grocery bills and deport 12 million illegals. Musk, Bezos and Zuckerburg are bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn king and even a million or two for the inauguration. It is amazing how one’s colors change when the rubber meets the road. 

Enter Hope Rural School. This masterpiece is located in Indiantown, Florida, about 15 miles west of Paradise. When Citrus was king or queen, the workers settled there. As gated communities bloomed, they, of course, needed cleaners and landscape people  And those people wanted to raise kids. Hispanic and poor, where were they to be educated ? 

Around 40 years ago two brave nuns started with nothing. To this day without public funding they created a place to learn and be loved for 142 pre K to 5th grade students. The good people of Harbour Ridge, where we live,  wanted to help. Some traveled several times a week to volunteer teach. Others opened their wallets to help build. And 28 years ago someone got the great idea to adopt families for Christmas. 

Last Wednesday, we delivered red bags full of Xmas goodies to 110 families. We all met in the cafeteria/meeting hall. Each class put on a musical act of singing and dancing. Club members were Mr and Mrs Claus, ably assisted by more members and a great time was had by all. Each child shook our hand to say thank you or Merry Christmas. Not a dry eye in the house.

It got me thinking. It wasn’t just us but thousands of individuals, groups, churches, companies, firemen, policemen, and service organizations throughout the land doing much of the same work. Not just at the holidays but throughout the year. Food banks, soup lines, interventions, fund raising of all sorts are organized by simple folk. They don’t get attention or praise. They are really quite astounding. 

I asked around and discovered that 25% of us do some sort of volunteering. There are over 1.5 million non profit organizations. Who knows how many more are informal groups to meet local needs? We as Americans gave over $550 Billion dollars to charity in 2023…that is with a capital B. Individuals gave $375 Billion. Corporations gave $36 Billion and foundations over $100 Billion. Why don’t we hear about that?

We were at Cigars and Scotch a few weeks ago. One of my buddies had on a pullover from a group that helped local kids in Jupiter, Florida. There is another group that takes troubled kids and teaches them a trade while finishing high school. We are not special. It is happening throughout America. 

My friend mused, asking what if there was an all-day or all weekend. blitz on national TV to tell every one of us that all is not lost. Not to raise money but to just psread the news. There are good kids and good people out there. Not government programs but just ordinary people jumping up and raising their hands. Why is that not “BreakingNews” or “Bulletins”?

The cynics among us will say that it will never sell. People love gore and bad news. I guess that is what the consultants of today are preaching. We are being told what to listen to and how we want our news because of this poll or that. It is probably just me, but this sounds absurd. 

It’s is Christmas and I think my mood is changing. I am going to concentrate on what is right with our world, not what is wrong. Sure we have problems but are they that daunting? Better yet can’t they be fixed to some degree by just toning it down. I don’t like being played by either side. They are firing up the troops for pay back not give back. How sad!

I hope this message is not mixed. I have to shape up my act and maybe you have to do the same to yours. Even the poorest of us have to realize that life isn’t all that bad. Imagine if we were having this conversation in Haiti or Somalia or Ukraine? Peace on earth. It is what I am aiming for and hoping for you. Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah. 

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Giving feels good, is good for your health and is contagious. Women give gifts to more people than men. The average giver is 62 years old. Charitable giving rises about 1/3 as much as the stock market does. 

Kars For Kids gets over 40,000 care per year to support youth programs of all sorts. Man, I hate that song.

Approximately 90% of all network news is negative. If it bleeds, it leads. A website lost 66% of its users when they did nothing but positive stories over several days. We can still try!

According to the National Science Foundation,we have 12-600 thoughts per day.  80% of our thoughts are negative and 95% of our thoughts are repetitive. Yikes!!

“Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, we can give our love, or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give.