Life is a wonderful gift, despite the sting of reality when it
gives us a dose of mortality, even if it is a chicken.
Life is a wonderful gift, despite the sting of reality when it gives us a dose of mortality, even if it is a chicken.
Living in the country is survival for many domestic barnyard critters. Frick is missing his tapping brother Frack, last seen alive squawking in the jaws of a bobcat at 3:30 a.m, but by the time they were at the first ledge, Frack gave a last fighting squawk last week and was silent. Frick, obviously nervous and terrified, stood twitching his head as he scoped the darkness beyond the floodlights at the other end of the yard and by his choice he came to stand next to me.
Fate, destiny, our own life choices or in the chickens’ case, dinner for one. Daddy always said, “Linda girl, s— happens.”
Existing in this world is plenty tough for a majority of people wouldn’t you say? Just being alive has contingencies. You have to eat, even a bobcat.
But for mankind, this wonderful life is about the humanity people experience when life becomes inhumanely unfair – and we all have been there in some capacity, be it an unkind word or a hungry stomach.
Every day all I ever hope for is to wake up happy, to be alive and happy there is another day in my life to sew something good for someone else – a payback for those in my past not so far behind who were there for me, most of them strangers led right to my door.
Struggling as a young widow to raise four children was hell, especially after losing a small fortune in the commodities market, leaving me with just my widow’s benefits to shelter, clothe and feed my brood. My house payment was $3,000 a month, and that was back in the mid ’80s. My lifestyle was going to drastically change, again.
Making the necessary adjustments, I had enough to pay the tuition bills and make a move out of the area. The remainder of our possessions worth $50,000 (wholesale) was put in a moving van and hasn’t been seen since. (Anyone out there get a good deal on a 100-year-old 14-seat dining-room table made of teakwood with Austrian leather high-back chairs? Anyone?)
Anyway, if it wasn’t for organizations like Community Pantry, Jovenes De Antano, LULAC, the Mission dinners in San Juan and all the other Marley Holtes of the world, it could have been much worse.
One of my most important personal growth lessons was about people who do good from the bottom of their heart and those looking to earn brownie points, a payback – “If I do this, I’ll just go ask them to do the same later.” But that’s not the way it works because receivers and givers are not on the same clock when it comes to a crisis, nor does help come in the exact capacity when it was handed out.
When I hit the bottom of the cash barrel all the people I knew capable of helping were not parting with their cash, and those who had the least offered more than they should. For others I was a lesson for those who came to my door thinking of their own grievances with life, going away, I’m sure, thinking, “Things could be worse.” Believe it or not, that was the same thought I had when they left.
Looking back, nothing has really changed in 20 years to improve Middle America’s income. Too many families are living from paycheck to paycheck and it’s never easy to raise a family of five on one income unless you have a super-duper job with benefits. But even at $100,000 it would be a tight budget in this state.
Nevertheless, who knows what detours have occurred in people’s lives – more importantly, who cares? As far as I’m concerned, every human has the duty to help another human. When someone says “I need help” do you lend a hand with contingencies to those who are struggling to be alive or do you give from the bottom of your heart?
Please help the aforementioned organizations help others. If you look around this Christmas season and see someone looking like the world has left them behind, reach out with a kind word or send them to one of these organizations because if they have no money for extras they certainly can’t afford a newspaper to read the bulletin board that lists the place where people go for help.
And don’t forget to listen closely to the people who don’t know how to ask. Be somebody’s Christmas wish.
