December 13, 2007
A couple mornings ago I saw a story on the news, a hyped up blurb about the Christmas spirit. Apparently at some Starbucks west of here (definitely wasn't New England), a customer felt inspired by holiday spirit and offered to pay for his order and the order of the person following in the drive-thru. That was kind – the random act that is rather sweet at this time of year. The story, however, was that the following 200 customers elected not to take the free drink, but pass it along to the person behind them. Really… those 199 weren't as generous as the first… and honestly, it didn't resonate as thoughtful as the reporters tried so very much to make it seem.
I don't want to knock the Christmas spirit – it is all around as Billy Mack might attest. But it is selective. Tonight there is a foreboding prediction of six to ten inches of snow – which in spite of the fact it may leave us with a white Christmas, fills me with apprehension. I don't dislike snow. I don't regret the choice to live in a part of the world where it is inevitable. I do begrudge, however, the thoughtlessness of individuals in this part of the world when the cold precipitation falls.
I used to hate shoveling. I still do. But I recognize it is a necessary task in the winter months. Plus it will justify some of those leftovers in my fridge later tonight whilst I finish the last depressing chapters of Atonement. And really, it is only an extra half hour of my day.
I don't regularly wish the world would see things through my interpretation. But, I do wish that people would take that extra half hour to shovel a sidewalk tonight. Not doing it will allow one to escape the cold and the aggravation of the activity. But to do it is to think of pedestrians who have to walk to the bus, to the train, to school, to the store… to wherever and not have to worry about falling on their asses, having to walk in the street and risk getting hit by a car, or getting wet feet one has to live with all day long. If this is really the time of year when we think of others, is not safety a pretty good example of that?
That would be a manifestation of holiday spirit I can respect – and won't need news anchors to make me feel good about it.
But I will be surprised, very surprised, if tomorrow morning all the sidewalks are clear. Then again, this is supposedly the season of miracles too.
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