Yes, Virginia, There is a....

In two days our home is going to be full again. My gorgeous bride's Christmas wish will come true as we welcome home our children. It has been a number of years since we have all gathered under one roof. Last year Brig and Bri were both on their missions. The year before that Kasi and Bri were on their missions. The year before that Kas was on her mission. It has been a good 4 or 5 years since we have had our bedrooms filled with our children. Mom and I are both excited.

The house is decorated with three trees. My job is to get the trees up and then...stand back and let the master decorator do her thing. I am in awe as our comfortable home becomes even more so. It truly becomes a winter wonderland.

At this time I feel the need to state my support for the jolly, old elf. You see, in my family, if you don't believe, you don't receive. So, in my ignorant bliss, all my children are coming home with the shared belief that, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." To my great pleasure, though, my wife and our children have incorporated the spirit of the old soul and has made it a part of their lives.

Josh and Brigham share their time and talents each weekend in a nursing home reading to the elderly. Kas has volunteered numerous hours and days to a political organization that she believes in. Brianna is serving in a capacity to help young women in her area grow and mature. She is also spending a month in the spring using her skills as a nurse in Ecuador. Marcia is officially on her second mission for our church. She is being used to help train teachers for parenting and marriage classes that are being offered by our church. It is a task that covers the state of Indiana and Northern Kentucky. (I'm her body guard and chauffeur!!)

Somewhere it is said that "it is better to give then to receive." That is the nature of Santa Claus, that is the Spirit of Christmas, that is the one of the purposes of life itself.

December 25th. A small babe in a manger became THE light on the hill. Lowly shepherds came to witness this miracle. Mighty wise men, from afar, came to pay homage to a young child. Angels sang at his birth. Jesus of Nazareth, King of Kings, Savior of the world...happy birthday.

If you have not found this small babe...ask.

jsf

The Mystiqie of Robin Hood

Emotions are central to who and what we are. Marketers ply there trade in playing on humanities emotions. Toy makers advertise in such a manner that children have to have the latest toy...or they'll "just die!!!" Phone makers are packaging their new phones as MP3 players, as digital cameras, as small computers, and even as phones. Charities are displaying disadvantage children to troll for more money for their organizations. Emotional manipulation is a full time business.

Robin Hood is the classical heart string player. The "rob from the rich and give to the poor" motto is what this thief used as his bow in playing his emotional violin. Please take the time to answer the short poll. I am interested in what people think.

The "Robin Hood" theme was played out in the 80s with a show called the "The A Team." It was a show of renegade military people rescuing the down and trodden from people who weren't quite legitimate. It played on the emotions of the underdog striking at organizations or people who were taking advantage of the down and out.

Fast Forward to 2008. TNT has a new show called "Leverage." With the exception of Timothy Hutton the cast is young. The concept is an "A Team" retread. The cast of characters in both show share some similarities. Each team has a "crazy" person. Each has an African-American. Each has male "eye-candy" and each has an older, wiser leader who runs the operations. It is Robin Hood modernized, again.

I always worry about those who start vocalizing their positions against big companies. I worry about those who say some people earn "too much" money. I worry about an organization that thinks that they should take money from those who have and redistribute to those who have not. I worry about a country where the Tree of Liberty is dying at it's roots. I worry...jsf

Wise moves

Who would have thunk?

Ok so it has been a long time since I've written. Being in school has tendency to keep one busy. So what has happened since then?

Who would have thought back last Christmas that a man named Barack Obama

would be Pres. Elect and his secretary-of-state would be one Hillary Rodham Clinton?

Most people probably had never heard of Mr. Obama and the same group may have thought the new president would be Mrs. Clinton.

So why would someone pick Mrs. Clinton for this new role? As I gander at it I am amazed how political astute it was. Mrs. Clinton was building seniority in the senate. With Ted Kennedy ill and his star falling, someone would want to fill the void that will create. Mrs. Clinton would surely have been in the ring with others to throw her seniority around. She had the potential of causing a lot of problems to the new administration if she decided to be vindictive. Fortunately, for the new administration, she bit at the carrot that was dangled in front of her. To me that was a major coup for the new president. Not only does he keep her on a leash but, when needed, he can send her out of the country when ever he needs to.

That is only half of the equation though. In appointing Mrs. Clinton to his cabinet he

created an empty spot in the US Senate from the state of New York. It has come out in the last week or so that one of the persons desiring that position is Caroline Kennedy. It is my belief she will be the one that gets the position. Mr. Obama effectively removed a question mark from the senate and replaced her with a strong ally. For those who were unaware Ms. Kennedy was one of the individuals on the committee to vet Vice-presidential candidates. She did it behind the scene with little fanfare. She did her job with out stealing the limelight from Mr. Obama.

She will be a strong ally to the new president in the senate.

The question that I would like to leave for those to ponder is this- will she be the first woman president of this country? The next few years will be interesting to watch...jsf