Chamblee54

This content was published November 27, 2008. … I was in a hostel, in Brunswick GA. Before dinner, everyone had to say something they were thankful for. I was ready to eat. When it was my turn, I said “I would like to thank all of you at this meeting who keep their comments down to a short sentence.” … Muskrat has suggested that people say five things they are grateful for. That sounds fair enough. · I am grateful for good health, at least below the neck. I have had a few close calls over the years, but somehow made it to 54.
I am grateful for the ability to think. Some things I believe, some I don’t. I try not to be a sheep. · I am grateful that America is going to have a change in leadership at the top. I am not optimistic that much will change, at least not right away. Nonetheless, the fact that we can have this change through a peaceful election instead of a bloody revolution says good things about America. · I am grateful for the advances in technology that allow me to share this gratitude with the world. I am also glad that the world has the freedom to ignore this if they choose.
This content was published November 28, 2008. … The day after thanksgiving is the official start of the christmas season. The last few years, I have grown weary of the turf fighting. Christians like to think that they are the only ones entitled to a holiday. It gets nasty. … The truth is, as long as I remember, Christmas has been a secular holiday, with a religious element. The parties and gift giving are a great way to wind up the year. The so called birth of Jesus really has very little to do with it.
In the early days of christianism, the pagan romans had a major celebration around the winter solstice. This is the longest night, and the end of the annual cycle of birth, death, and revival. The early Christians decided to have a comparable celebration. It is uncertain when Jesus was technically born, and many scholars today believe that it was sometime in the spring.
For a long time, I was able to ignore the religious hoopla, and focus on the joy of the season. In recent years, Christians have made more of an issue out of the “War on Christmas”. Bill O’Reilly, with his instinct for a divisive issue, has been a ringleader. Where once the secular and religious people could celebrate a happy season together … and, truth be told, many still do … there is now a conflict. The Christmas make an exclusive claim to the festivities, and those who don’t agree with them are out of luck. It has become a fighting issue whether to say happy holidays or merry christmas. I would like to get back to peace on earth, and good will towards men.
This content was published November 23, 2008. … There is an official word for every letter in the alphabet. It is part of the NATO phonetic alphabet. The words are:Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu … The current President is often called by his middle initial, W. He is known to have had a drinking problem, and is rumored to be hitting the bottle these days. How ironic that W means whiskey. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in August 1940. “Port Gibson, Mississippi” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah