While the Christmas season is a joyous time for many, it’s also a stressful and sad time for those who have had a life changing event or have lost a loved one.
In our wildest imagination, a mass shooting in our small county of 12,657 would be the last thing to cross our minds, but here we are. Four people died of gunshot wounds and one remains hospitalized. One of those four was the suspected shooter.
Living in a small town can be difficult having access to limited stores and items. But how much more difficult does that living become when access to your local store is cut due to lack of employees and openings. This is what residents of Virginia and the surrounding area are facing with the hit and miss closure of the local Dollar General.
Christmas is such a joyous time of the year for most families. For those who have lost a loved one, it’s a tough time. The memories are painful, but they also bring a lot of joy.
Christmas, when I was growing up, was always the best. At one time my dad worked four jobs just so he could provide for his family. Both parents always told us that they didn’t get anything from Santa, or very little, growing up so they wanted to make sure their kids had a decent Christmas. And they truly succeeded at it.
During the “Big War,” World War II, there were a lot of nostalgic songs about home, family, and sweethearts, songs that really impressed the millions of young men who were away from home.
One of the best of that era was the 1943 carol, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” written by poet James K. Gammon from Brooklyn, along with musician Walter Kent. Kent also wrote the popular “White Cliffs of Dover.”
This is a story about faith, love, beauty and romance. Though this story is well over a hundred years old, I believe you will find it as enjoyable today as those who first read it in the closing years of the 19th century.
I hope you will share this story with others. It serves as a beacon of hope in these troubling times.
In 1897, little Virginia O’Hanlon wrote the following letter to the New York Sun:
It won’t be long and it will be Christmas. Children have been counting days for a long time. This is the time of the year when they are so excited that their energy runs overtime. Parents and teachers don’t need calendars. Kids bouncing off walls is a huge signal that Christmas is close, and as each day draws closer, they seem to get worse. It’s a stressful time of the year for kids and worse for their parents and teachers. But in the end, it’s all worth it just to see the smiles and giggles.
It had the ingredients found in a dime novel: an express train, determined robbers, a sheriff’s posse, dynamite and even nitroglycerin. And it all happened at Springfield on Christmas Eve of 1912.Back then, The Hummer was a Chicago & Alton Railroad express train that ran between the Windy City and Kansas City via Springfield. Among railroaders, The Hummer was known as a “heavy money train.”
Since we had many hogs raised on our farm, it wasn’t unusual to hear Mother yell, “Get to work kids, the sows are out!” She knew they were loose because they would walk right up to our living room’s bay window and peer in.
Do you remember the days leading up to the birth of your first child? There are always challenges and anxieties when children are born, but especially when it’s your first. I’m reminded of this while reading the Gospel of Luke. He paints a challenging picture of the days leading up to the Savior’s birth, including traveling 90 miles with a very pregnant woman on the back of a donkey. Looking back now, we can see the glory that was present in those moments. But I believe that living through it in person was a different story.
This may come as a surprise to younger readers, but there was a time when most people placed strong trust in the news media.
In survey results released earlier this year by Gallup and the Knight Foundation as reported by the Associated Press, half of those surveyed “believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting.”