We are excited about the anticipation of Marcy and Brock coming to see us on Saturday. Jennifer will be joining us. She is a delight. The only addition that would make the Weekend complete was a Christmas Tree. At this time of summer, I see the end, I can see through my binoculars the approach of fall. I was born in October and love the fall. I feel energized and renewed. Fall begins for me on September 1.

I enjoy going to the Grocery Store. The choices are endless. I am humbled that I have the money to purchase almost any grocery item I want, while I recall the many days when I couldn’t. Prices are not going down, they are going up. Inflation is rising, and the fear of a recession is a genuine concern. I recall when MJ and I had a $20 grocery budget for a week. When you have to worry about every dime you spend, your outlook for the future is cloudy. Many people in our country don’t have money for necessities. Their world is full of the rich and the rest of us. The idea of taking the kids to a movie and buying popcorn and sodas is out of reach. Vacations are not considered. They are the realm of the rich from the poor’s view.

We stood in the Commodities Line at Eldorado. We were poor, like many of our neighbors. The workers opened the big back door of the semi-truck and began to throw the commodities to the poor people. Many commodities hit the ground. Poor people can not concern themselves with such niceties. We needed the five-pound block of government cheese and the dry milk flakes.

Millions of Americans work every day and do not have the money to buy food. They exist on Ramen Noodles or school food programs to feed their kids lunch and often breakfast. As a young adult, I was hungry. I had almost nothing to eat and no money to buy it. During those halcyon days, I worked closely with the church pastor who often bragged to me that he had enjoyed a T-bone steak the night before. I was proud and would not ask for help. Almost no one helped me as I became rail thin. We live in the bubbles of our making. When I hear christian people brag about how blessed by God they are, I wonder where the poor are in the blessing equation.

So we need a little Christmas right this very minute, as the song says. We have submitted to our basest selves. Now we say that the rich inherit the spoils. Let the rich say I am rich because of my demonstrated earning power, illustrating my holiness. If you are poor, we would throw you some commodities if we had not already run out of many, giving tax cuts to the Righteous Rich. There are 2024 leftover Christmas Trees for sale at Walmart. Perhaps we can buy one before the end of the month…