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| MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY CYBER FAMILY! Just flew back from Florida, and boy... are my arms tired. We had a great time at Disney World on the McCarty Metro expense account. Margaret and I are entering our 10th week on Weight Watchers. Even after Thanksgiving, and a week of restaurant eating, I have lost 30 pounds, and Margaret is down 12. This is one of the best things I have done for myself. I am feeling good. |
Hey... A pretty cool thing happened a few days ago. I called Dell warranty support for one of our 'ailing' computers in our school district, and as I'm giving the guy in Florida all my information, he tell's me he lived 3 doors from us on North York. Joey Abad was the Dell Tech I worked with on the phone. Well, we caught up a bit, and his family is doing well. It IS a small world after all.... NO! Don't cue the music :-o December will be a fun month. Larry and his family will be up from Tennessee for a while in mid December. I am also happy, and looking forward to being with my whole family at Christmastime. Chris will be in from Boston, Amanda is coming up from Indiana, and Brad and Austin will be on break from college. It will be nice to have a full house again. I am lucky to still have my Mom in my life, and I am looking forward to the big Metro bash held at her house on Christmas Eve, and spending time with Mike & Karen and their family, and Rick and his family over the holidays. And, although they will be in other parts of the world and not here in person, Jerry and his family and my brother in Iraq will be in our hearts. It will also be a time to remember fondly my Dad and DJ and all the great memories from Christmas' past. I guess that brings me to my final thought for December. It got me to thinking just how lucky I am to have such a great family and support system. This story just happened to me right after Thanksgiving. I was rushing around trying to get some "Door Buster" shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas season right then. It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking lot at Lakeside Mall, and as I was loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated to buy, I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I needed for a mail-in rebate, so I retraced my steps back to the mall entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill. Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar bill in his hand. Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what was wrong. 
| He told me his sad story. I found out that he also came from a large family. He told me that he had three brothers and two sisters. His father had died when he was nine years old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She made very little to support her large family. Nevertheless, she had managed to save two hundred dollars to buy her children Christmas presents. The young boy had been dropped off on the way to her second job. He was to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take the bus back home in Mt. Clemens. He had not even entered the mall, when an older boy grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared into the night. |
"Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said, "I did." "And nobody came to help you?" I wondered. The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!"
I realized that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry for help. So, I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car. OK.. OK... That was a joke! Maybe a bad one at that, but I wanted to end the year 2007 with a smile. May God bless you and yours this holiday season and from our family to yours, we wish you a Blessed Christmas and a bountiful New Year. We'll see you right back here in February. -Kelly |
