One More Christmas Blog

Maybe there is time for one more Christmas blog entry, so let’s give it a try.

People celebrate Christmas in a number of ways.  Some are very traditional and celebrate the same way every year.  For others, something a bit different each year is their preference.  To some, Christmas is celebrated as a very religious event, and the birth of Jesus is the central tenet of their season.  Others celebrate Christmas as a very secular event.  Most of us, I suspect, are somewhere in the middle on this.  We happily combine the secular and material side with some adherence to the religious meaning.  How it is celebrated is an individual affair for some people or, more probably, a family affair.  

As with most things, there is some controversy around Christmas, particularly its Christian history.  Some question whether there every was a man named Jesus who was an itinerant preacher.  I am convinced that there was such a man and my conviction is bolstered by a near contemporary of Him, a Jewish historical writer named Josephus who wrote about such a man.  Others question the timing of the Christmas story.  We do not have any written testimony of the actual time of year that the birth took place, just as we do not have any evidence of the time of His death on the cross.  That the dates that we now celebrate these events coincide with pagan celebrations, the winter solstice and spring awakening, are undoubtedly true, but there may have been a fairly obvious reason for this in the ancient church.  They may have been celebrated in the dark days when early Christians had to hide their faith because of persecution.  To celebrate their holy days to coincide with other events would have given them cover to remain undiscovered and therefore safe.  

There are many things about Christmas other than midnight church, Christmas dinner, family visits and exchanging gifts.  We hear the plea ‘Peace on Earth’ as part of Christmas greetings although it should be a plea all year round.  But to hear it highlighted at this time is very heartening.  In addition we almost all wish people a Merry Christmas or a Seasons Greetings, even strangers.  The feeling of fellowship that permeates this time of year shows that people really can rise to the occasion and have good feeling toward others.  It’s amazing how a smile and a “Merry Christmas” can make the most harried sales clerk feel better.  Oh that that feeling by all people could last the whole year.  But that it does, in general, happen at this time of year is something else to celebrate. 

And then there is Christmas music.  Oh, I know of the shlock that blares at you in malls and stores, but that should not detract us from the really good music at Christmas.  We have traditional Christmas carols which are best heard with a good choir like Mormon Tabernacle Choir although I always feel that the best rendition of ‘Silent Night’ is by a solo boy soprano (admission – that used to be me when I was young).  There are also some very good popular songs and arrangements.  My favourites include Carly Simon and Willy Nelson’s duet of ‘Pretty Paper’ and Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ duet of ‘Once upon a Christmas’ among many more.  Of course I also like Handel’s “Messiah’.  So when the stress of Christmas gets you down, sit down for half an hour and listen to some soothing Christmas music.

So let us go forward and celebrate Christmas as we each see fit.  To my non-Christian friends I send you Seasons Greetings.  And let’s see if we can extend the good feelings of this season all year round.

Denee and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

More Recent Observations

There seems to be a new Christmas phenomenon these days.  Every Christmas movie it seems must have as its central character a thirty something very attractive woman who is very successful but has a screwed up love life that can only be fixed at Christmas.

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Mr. Trump has once again inflamed the world by declaring that the US will move its embassy to Israel to Jerusalem.  He reminds me of a kid with a box of matches who goes around lighting the matches and throwing them at people and things to see if he can start a fire.

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Jerusalem.  Poor Jerusalem!  Jerusalem is a city that has special meaning for three of the world’s most significant religions.  It is the ancient capital of Israel and home to THE Temple, now only remembered by the west or Wailing Wall.  It is the place where Jesus came to great acclaim, but where he was condemned to die and was crucified.  And it is the place where Mohamed came one night to what became known as the Dome of the Rock.  Throughout its history for the last thousand years it has known the most peace and accommodation when it was rules by Muslims.  But now it is a place of turmoil and division.  In my opinion the only way that Jerusalem could see peace is if it becomes an international city under a United Nations flag, open and welcoming to all.

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"Our focus every game is to hit the quarterback as hard as we can and make him uncomfortable," defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "I think we did a pretty good job of it."  Is it any wonder that so many quarterbacks get injured? I’m afraid that one of them is going to get really seriously hurt one of these days.

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Don’t you just love cling wrap for storing food.  It becomes particularly useful for Christmas left-overs.  It is almost like Saran-dipity.

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A study that was reported in the news the other day stated that humans may have reached their peak of physical prowess.  It reminded me of another assertion, ‘The sum of the intelligence of the planet is a constant.  The population is growing.’  It would certainly account for some of the things that have been going on in the world.

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I apologize for any puns or bad jokes in this piece.  No, on second thought I don’t apologize, I like what I wrote.

You may see fewer blog entries from me in the next few weeks.  There’s work to do for Christmas (anybody got any suggestions what I could get my wife?).  I addition, I am embarking on writing some short stories, some of which you may see in this blog site in the future.  Until then, Denee and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (or Hogmanay to the blessed).

Some Recent Observations

A question was recently asked about why discourse, particularly on social media, was becoming progressively angrier. Many ideas were put forward, but I would like to suggest another one . . . demographics.  More people are reaching their senior years, they are retiring and they know how to use a computer and smart phone.  They bring with them the anger, disappointment and prejudices of many years, and now they have an opportunity to vent those feelings on the world.  They also bring a social conservatism and nostalgia for the past.  And they have enough voices to silence those with a more optimistic and liberal outlook.  Just watch how many times phrases such as “liberal elite” and “sheeples” show up.

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I’m no longer comfortable even shaking hands with a woman any more.  The extent of actions and words that can now be construed as sexual harassment has become very fuzzy in the last few months.  Anyone with an eye or an ear knows that sexual innuendo, harassment and assaults have been around for a long time.  So why did the dam burst only when Harvey Weinstein’s accusers came forward?  Some of the allegations against him and many other prominent men go back years.  Why were they not identified years ago when the assaults and exhibitionism were taking place?  Even Bill Cosby’s misdeeds did not unleash this level of disclosures.

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While we are on the topic of sexual misconduct, this seems to be the only type of activity that brands a person as guilty unless proven innocent.  One or two allegations come to the fore and the alleged perpetrator is immediately fired, demeaned and assumed to be guilty with no opportunity to have the matter adjudicated in any forum but the press.  It also leaves open the question of what reasonably can be considered sexual misconduct.  If Bill Cosby is found guilty in court of multiple examples of sexual misconduct, it will be obvious what constitutes serious cases and a crime.  Note that Bill Cosby is the only alleged sexual predator whose case is before the courts.  But what about the other end of the spectrum, assuming that a spectrum of activities is allowed?  As an example let’s take the case of Garrison Keillor who was fired despite the fact that his only apparent action involved touching a woman’s back while trying to console her. And who can forget the case of the Canadian MP a few years ago who was invited into the hotel room of a female MP from another party, was given a condom and was then accused of having uninvited sex.  Is this and even more innocent acts to be taken as the new norm of sexual misconduct?  Is it any wonder that some men, like me, now find it uncomfortable to be around any woman who is not their wife?  Having a wife, daughter, daughters in law and female grandchildren, I certainly do not condone any sort of sexual assault or harassment.  But I do think that men who are accused of such activities deserve the opportunity to have their cases properly heard and adjudicated.

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Is it scary to think that the fate of the world is in the hands of four world leaders?  This is, of course, not the first time that a few presidents and potentates have held such power, but it may be the first time that none of them have been rational.

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I see that Mr. Trump has got a massive tax cut through both houses of Congress.  The major cuts will benefit the rich and big corporations on the premise that goodies will be passed down through the food chain to the average American.  But trickle-down economics did not work for Presidents Reagan, Bush senior or Bush junior and it will not work for Mr. Trump.  Each time it has been tried, the gap between rich and poor has only gotten greater.

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The views expressed in this and other blogs are solely my own, but I welcome feedback, criticism or debate on any of them.  jgf

Hyena Road

I must share with you an experience my wife and I had the other evening.  We were invited, by our local Member of Parliament, to a screening of a new Canadian movie called Hyena Road.  It is a drama about the Canadian participation in the Afghan War.  I was written and produced by the Canadian actor Paul Gross who also starred in the movie.  You will remember that Mr. Gross also made the movie Passchendaele a few years ago. He was also at the screening and answered questions after the movie was over.  He assured us that all of the incidents shown in the movie were related by actual soldiers in the war.  This gives the movie some sense of legitimacy.

As for the movie itself, it is very graphic, but is probably one of the most realistic depictions of war that you will see.  Most war movies show some sort of hero doing incredible deeds and coming out triumphant.  It is frequently softened by some sort of love story from the home front as a contrast to the war.  There is none of that in this movie. It shows both male and female soldiers operating together.  But mostly it shows the brutality of war, along with the suffering and confusion of the battlefield.  There is a story there that holds the movie together and some interesting characters to give the movie a human face.  But over it all is the war; a war that seems to have no winners and no end. A war that Canada was involved with longer than our involvement in World War 1 and 2 and Korea combined (2002 to 2015).

“ . . . fighting often continues long past the point where a ‘rational’ calculation would indicate that the war should be ended.”

From “Every War Must End” by Fred Ikle as quoted in “My American Journey” by Colin L. Powell, General (Rtd) US Army.

I bring all this to your attention because you can get a chance to watch this movie this Sunday evening at 8 PM on CBC television commercial free.  It would be a worthwhile investment of your time to see this excellent movie to end the Remembrance Day weekend.

“You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.”

Jeannette Rankin

Unsung Heroes

You know, they could be all around you.  They may live on your street or in your neighborhood.  There are two on our street and two more who were once part of the group.  You may run into them in the grocery store or the gym.  They may be sitting next to you in the beauty parlour or the bus.  Who are these strange creatures?

They are military spouses, that’s who.  And in many ways they are the ones who also need remembering on Remembrance Day.  They are the real heroines and heroes behind so many of our military personnel and veterans.  I say spouses whereas some years ago I would almost exclusively have spoken of wives.  But today there are military women who are supported by their husbands.  But whatever the gender, they all must be remembered and honoured.

We see, of course, the Silver Cross Mother every year at the Remembrance Day ceremonies, representing mothers who have lost children to war.  But we never see a Silver Cross Wife.  Most people have no idea what it is like to lose a spouse in their young years, often with a family to raise and explain why Mom or Dad is not coming home. 

But the real story is with the day by day and year by year experiences of these spouses who see a service member through an entire military career.  They start the life with optimism and enthusiasm.  Unlike the military member, there is no basic training for the spouses in their new life.  They are not told how to withstand the long absences.  They are not told how to react when they hear of death or disaster; how to tell the children why Dad or Mom can’t be there for their school graduation; how to understand what often sound like inane or stupid orders from their spouse’s senior officer; how to give birth without their husband; how to support other military spouses when they need help; how to uproot their homes every couple of years because their spouse has just received a new posting.  And they don’t tell you that you will have to do this year after year for as long as your spouse chooses to stay in their military career.      

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.”
  - Calvin Trillin

But the really amazing thing is that so many military spouses do all that and more.  They run the household. They cook the meals. They manage the household budget.  They pay the bills and do the shopping.  They get the kids off to school every morning and get them to bed every night.  They don’t complain (much) when the biggest snow fall of the year arrives two days after their soldier or sailor deploys for the winter or for a year.  They referee the sibling arguments.  They get everything ready for the next move and then unpack everything at the other end.  They attend the parent teacher interviews that you can’t.  They keep the small, daily disasters a secret from you when you’re away.  They don’t turn to you for help when the furnace breaks down because they know exactly what to do, or know someone who does.  They do this all by themselves because you are busy fighting terrorists or pirates or helping out in a natural disaster; because you are doing your job. And for some of them, the day comes when they have to tend to your damaged body or mind, or they have to arrange to have you buried.  They truly are heroines or heroes.  They deserve our praise because they allow your soldiers, sailors and airmen to protect your country.  So when you shake the hand of a person in military uniform, give their spouse a big hug too.

So here’s to Mary and Barb, Lynne and Verna and Pat and Monica and Bev and Marlene and Alice and Sue and Denee and John.  God bless them all and so many more.

“If the Navy had wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued one.”

Numerous Navy Chief Petty Officers when I was a young officer