I know, I
know – sometimes it looks like I've abandoned this blog. Far from it! In fact,
I'll be adding a couple weekly features (at least, until I run out of material)
beginning next month:
1) Would you
like to build a lapsteel guitar? Regular fodder-provider
Spartacus set down his crossbow and throwing-axe long enough to do just that;
stand by. We'll be looking over his shoulder as he goes through the steps,
visiting one of his two workshops once a week; please do not touch the
equipment.
2)
Semi-adopted sister Chuckles has agreed to let me post her scripts here. No, I don't mean fonts; I'm talking
actual scripts for television shows which she's written and pitched – they
range from "The Simpsons" to "Star Trek" to
"House". None have hit the screen yet (and they're already
copyrighted, so don't get any dollar-signs in your eyes, okay?), but any day
now… once the strike's over, that is. Oh, and did I mention she's legally blind?
…plus there
are seasonal things I want to squeeze in over the next couple weeks, and I’m still
committed to scraping the muck off His Holiness Pius XII; I'll also be tackling a
particularly tough issue next month: abortion – from a liberal (yet loyal)
Catholic's viewpoint.
Back to the
immediate present, though. Without any appreciable loss in weight, the month
thus far has seen me spread thinner than I've been in some time. Thanks to a
helpful (i.e., desperate) national staffing agency, today I finished out my
second full week at the headquarters of a world-spanning firm sited just off
the tarmac of a regional airport that's also close to my home.
Being the
USAF veteran and wingnut/propellerhead he is, on my very first day I happened
to be in a supply-room, and I called Spartacus and gloated at him, identifying
the firm (he's quite familiar with it). There he was, in the mountainous wilds,
busily preparing for the next snow-onslaught, and here I
was, within not-too-many-dozen yards of lots of jet fuel and small planes.
I may yet
meet the business-end of one of his axes; he could've taken it as mean of me.
A portion of
my assignment for this firm's Office Services department has seen me pitching
in with the overworked folks in the corporate mailroom… thus netting me a
harvest of many handfuls of world stamps come the end of each day. (These are
not part of my wages… which aren't spectacular. But it's work.) Daughter One,
Shellie, was a Psychology major, and thereby I've once again vindicated her
academically-qualified assessment that I do, indeed, need a life. Woo-hoo!
Before
taking on the privilege of ducking particularly low-flying aircraft, I was honored to spend three
humble days at the beginning of this month helping out the commendable people
of the Salvation Army – this was their near-downtown location at a county seat.
They needed some folks to help on the admin end of getting needy families set
up for assistance in simply being able to give their kids some toys and
clothing for Christmas. I accepted the request without hesitation. I met and
spoke with (in English and shaky Español) quite a few families.
Let me give
the Salvation
Army an unmitigated, enthusiastic plug here. According to their
latest annual report (see page 17), a paltry 5% of their
moneys coming in is earmarked to pay for fundraising; even their operating
expenses – headered "Management & General" take up no more than
12% of their expenses. My understanding (I've not yet verified, but Forbes confirms) is that this is far better
than any other community service charity out there – better by staggeringly far
than United Way; better even than my own Knights of Columbus, for that matter.
You want
your charitable contributions to go the furthest, then for your desperate
brothers' and sisters' sake, people, don't skip the Kettle. Shoot; you can even donate online,
and tell them how you want your donation allocated.
Other
donations: household goods, clothing, etc. – of course! And if you have one of those Planet
Aid clothing-donation boxes in your neighborhood… stay away from those scammers! (I want to take them on here sometime,
too.) They are not a non-profit charitable organization. Give your
giveaways to the bell-ringers, or to Goodwill. I do.
Let me
repeat what our Pastor preached for Thanksgiving:
Everything
we have that is in excess of what we must have to meet our needs… belongs to
the poor.
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