In my old age I am becoming more and
more a sentimentalist when it comes to Christmas. The season always seems to
bring out the best in people, in spite of inevitable news of holiday tragedies
brought on by treacherous weather.
Several images of this Christmas
will stay with me. One is of the little children in Holy Family Church in
Elizabeth City, all dressed up in costume as shepherds, wise men, and the holy
family—even a golden star—as they marched out after services and led the
congregation to a reenactment of the Christmas scene.
Another indelible image is of the
Salvation Army volunteer standing outside of Walgreen’s in Elizabeth City on
the coldest evening of the week. As I waited in the car for my wife to do her
shopping inside, I watched this brave lady shivering and fighting the cold by
jumping up and down and ringing her bell vigorously even when there were no
shoppers in sight.
The Salvation Army is one of our
favorite charities, not only because of its intrepid bell-ringers at Christmas,
but also because its executives take so little in remuneration for their
work. That’s in contrast with other
charities like the United Way, the Red Cross, and Unicef whose executives rake
in a much as $2 million in salary and benefits. I would encourage everyone with
access to the Internet to check out the great charities as well as the frauds
and outright scams. Donate, be generous, but make sure you know who gets the
money.
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