Table Talk

One of the most important items in any home is the kitchen table, especially at Christmas time.

In today's busy world it seems less important. We are rushing to meet all our appointments and often the kitchen becomes a fast-food drive through, stop at the kitchen bar or maybe grab a coffee to go in a travel mug.



Whether it is new, elegent, antique or simply four legs and a top, the actual value is the same, The latter describes the table I remember as a child in Saskatchewan. It matched the decore of our log house. The table is a symbol of what family is all about. That is where families come together in one group. And if anyone is missing in the house it will be noticed when an empty chair is discovered at the table. Everyone who sits at the table will interact on an equal level. Smaller children will sit on a high chair to bring them up to a level, which is equal to the biggest person at the table. The Table is where daily blessings are set out for all and shared according to their need. That is where thanksgiving is offered That is where conversation is engaged and opinions are exchanged.



I think of the table as a peaceful place. If anyone has a score to settle -- that can wait. After a meal together, the "score" may not seem that important.



May your table this Christmas be overflowing with good things and may your generous heart help some needy person to sit at your table.

Ring them bells

"Let's leave a little early tonight for the church Christmas banquet. And on our way I would like to stop at the shopping center," I said to my wife. There is usually a volunteer for the Salvation Army collecting money for the poor." I was angry and this offering would be a protest vote of sorts.



A week ago, the bells which the volunteers traditionally ring to attract passers-by had been silenced. This action followed complaints of some "scrooge" customers who claimed that the ringing of the bells was very annoying and offended customers. The Salvation Army willingly complied with the request of some shopping malls. Then the customers spoke. They said NO to no more bells. Let them ring. Its all about giving and giving is all about Christmas.



We parked our car at the shopping center and I spotted a bell ringer outside the liquor store. I normally would drop in a few coins. This time I folded my offering and pushed it through the slot in the kettle. And I said to the volunteer, "Keep those bells ringing." He smiled and said "Thank you."



I walked back to the car and said to my wife, "I should have said,

"Ring them bells

Ring them louder

Bring out the guitars

Bring out the horns and blow the trumpets

Bring out the whole orchestra and let this town know that if there is generosity in the hearts of the people, there will be no animosity in the streets and homes of our city."



"Blessed is he/she who considers the poor, the Lord will deliver him/her in time of trouble." Psalm 41:1



This could turn out to be the biggest global warming - of a different kind.

skin deep

I received a letter in the mail recently, which raised my curiosity. The letter bore no return address. Thinking that my curiosity would be satisfied as soon as I opened the letter, to my surprise there was no information inside the letter except the words, hand printed, "Walt, read it, it works. Then, as if this were a detective story where the murderer carelessly dropped a glove at the scene of the crime, there was the letter J. Hmmm, a glove? J? Could it be O. -- Nah. What it was was a full page of a newspaper ad promoting the virtues of wrinkle-free skin. I'm still curious and a bit annoyed. I am puzzled because I can't think of any acquaintance or relative who lives in California (the place of origin according to the post office stamp), who knows my latest mailing address perfectly and who cares so much for me that he/she would want me to have perfect wrinkle-free skin and then not want to be thanked for such revolutionary advise. Furthermore, I am insulted to have someone suggest to me that wrinkles are a curse. And then to insinuate that I would be better off if I got rid of something for which I worked hard for years to call my own, is an affront to my intellegence.

I think wrinkles are a thing of beauty. They are the cartoonist's subject of caricatures; the artist's favorite lines in a portrait. Haven't you seen the old wizened faces that have the skin of a rhinoceros in a photograph? Beauty may be only skin deep, the skin 0f a wrinkled face is deep. It's like a landscape that shows years of experience etched in every wrinkle. Look at the face with skin that is smooth like a billiard ball then add a few wrinkles and you have a character that has a story to tell. You're looking at history. Sadness and joy permanently exhibited. You see endurance, hard fought accomplishments, longevity.

There is one more thing to say about wrinkles -- they don't hurt.