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Page A2 The Joan De Arc Crusader / Thursday, December 25, 2008 Front Page A1 / Entertainment A3 / Nostalgia A4 / Crossword A5
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” – Voltaire
Time to start gearing up for Christmas
Well, Christmas 2008 has at last arrived. The
Crusader family hopes you have all enjoyed it as much as we have, but it’s
over now and we must start busily preparing for Christmas 2009. There’s not a
moment to lose!
If you neglected to deploy Christmas lights and inflatable Santas on your home this season, now’s the time to get them out there for next year. If you already have them up, then leave them and add some more! It used to be that people who kept their outdoor Christmas lights up all year round were frowned upon by their community, but it turns out that these folks were actually farsighted visionaries. Our society is moving inexorably toward the year-round Christmas celebration with each passing year, and why not? Christmas is fun. And profitable. Of course there are some out there who still cling to the antiquated notion that Christmas celebrations should be confined each year to the month or so after Thanksgiving. Let’s think about that for a minute. Only 30 brief days out of 365 to enjoy non-stop carols on the radio, crowded shopping malls drenched in glimmering red and green decorations, and cute TV commercials bombarding us with the timeless messages of peace on earth, love, hope, and buy, buy, buy! Americans have a God-given right to celebrate the Yuletide for months in advance, nay, even years in advance, if we so choose. Only the most cynical soldier in the War on Christmas™ would limit our enjoyment of this grandest of holidays to a mere month. It’s an outrage! Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he expects to hear from you no later than Labor Day. Get on the stick. Let us be the first to wish one and all a Merry Christmas 2009. And hey, don’t forget, 2010 is just around the corner too. Please plan accordingly. Ho, ho, ho!
Hey, the Crusader could use a bailout too With all the bailing out going on in Washington D.C. these days, it has occurred to us that an infusion of cash from the feds might be just the thing to help stabilize the Joan De Arc Crusader as well. Is the Crusader “too big to fail?” Well, probably not. Some would even argue that Joan De Arc Avenue’s favorite publication is a small time enterprise of very little economic significance whatsoever. However, all this means is that our bailout should be proportionally smaller than the $700 billion doled out to Wall Street. We’re willing to settle for fifty bucks. Is this an arbitrary figure? Well yes, absolutely, but then so was the $700 billion.
We are
perfectly prepared to accept a limited degree of government oversight with
respect to our $50.00 bailout. We’ve nothing to hide – the Crusader will
not be hosting extravagant getaways at lavish resort hotels at any time in the
near future. Heck, we don’t even particularly like luxurious spa treatments,
truth be told. The Crusader’s publisher does however reserve the right to
buy up other local neighborhood newspapers at pennies on the dollar, as such
opportunities present themselves. Anybody got a problem with that? ________________________________________________________________
LETTERS
Bringing back those Chris-Town memories After seeing the article in the Republic this week on the light rail and the "Simpson" neighborhood, I decided to check out the history web sites. Man, yours brought back memories. I grew up at 2007 W. Luke, 18 years. Your picture of Chris was shocking, brought back immediate memories of us as menacing little kids. We would walk across his property and see him now and then but he would never say anything or do anything. But what was odd, despite all his money, he slept in a cement horse trough. We little bastards would peek in there and see him sleeping. A popular rumor always was that he kept his money buried in one of those three barns and that if he caught you in there he'd kill you and bury you there too. Needless to say we never went near it and never at night. I remember in his final years he would drive that tractor plowing the SW corner of his property, but planting nothing. Dust everywhere. When he died, I remember the three houses on the property were actually picked up and moved somewhere, not torn down. Chris-Town, we used to go over to Wards just to sit on those Riverside motorcycles and go-carts. Your birds pictures brought back memories as that was where we usually entered the mall. The pizza place at the east end of the mall was a favorite as was Miracle Mile. Guggy's, wow! My friend’s mom worked there and got us free stuff. I remember me and my Mom standing on the corner of 19th and Bethany as Bobby Kennedy's open limo went by after giving a speech at Chris-Town. Fox Theater, when it was being built, we would wait for the construction crews to go home and then we’d go ride our bikes down the cement slope of what would be the sloping floor of the theater. Also saw the Lou King Ranger show as well as numerous Wallace and Ladmo shows there. I worked at Piccadilly, Loves BBQ, and Bob’s Big Boy and one time or another. Again, thanks for the web site. Troy in Glendale
The Crusader welcomes your letters at jdacrusader@aol.com ________________________________________________________________
Chuck’s Christmas cheer and advice going forward Once again we come to the end of another year, seemingly a little sooner than last year and probably a bit worse for wear. I don’t know about you, but 2008 was a difficult trip ‘round the sun for most of us boomers. Those among us with nest eggs were allowed to watch much of those savings disappear before our very eyes, and we would be the lucky ones. Too many people of my generation have been getting by with no safety net whatsoever, and the local homeless shelters are filling up with folks who never dreamed they’d be in such a predicament. Times are indeed tough. So, who’s to blame, and what should we do about it? Actually, we can all take our fair share of credit for this mess. Take the finger that you’ve got pointed at our elected officials, the financial institutions, or that “other guy,” and aim it likewise at yourself. We after all have elected those leaders, put up with the shenanigans of the banks, and most critically, adopted a common sense of entitlement that has driven us for decades to live well beyond our means. Institutions and individuals alike have deluded themselves into thinking that money can be made to appear out of nowhere, and that this imaginary plunder is just the ticket for ego-boosting and resource-wasting expenditures. Hey, it was one helluva ride, but the party is over and now it’s time to settle the check. Well, dear reader, in Chuck’s opinion this couldn’t come at a better time. You see, the answer to all of this mess has nothing to do with government bailouts, or tax rebates that only serve to keep the party going for a few more hours. No, if the root cause of this thing is “We the People,” then we are obviously also the solution. The tribe has always come together in times of adversity, and I don’t think we have ever in the history of this planet had a nation more in need of uniting than we have here and now. It isn’t going to be easy; we as a society will have to relearn some long-lost skills, abilities such as compassion, trust, and personal sacrifice. In return we will regain some appreciation for the blessings that we do have. Did your guy win the presidential election in November? If he did, then you’re probably on board with some hope and trust for the near future. If not, you may be a bit more apprehensive. My advice to everyone is to give Obama a chance. He’s going to make some mistakes -- the guy is only human -- and those mistakes will be a lot easier to spot and correct if we don’t have half the country crying wolf every five minutes. If you truly believe that our president-elect was born in Kenya and that his election was a conspiracy, yeah, I’m talking to you. And as long as we’re remaking ourselves, there are a few more things that we need to dispose of immediately. Racial bigotry and discrimination against gays, lesbians and the transgendered need to go away. Disallowing marriage between consenting adults is mean-spirited and petty, and doesn’t serve anyone well. As we all get to know and depend upon each other more in the new economies, this should become more apparent to more people. I sure hope so. And so I believe that on Christmas 2008, despite our various circumstances, there is reason for hope and cheer. If you are reading this and find yourself in truly dire straits at the moment, I don’t mean to belittle your difficulties. We will all learn to reevaluate our priorities in the years ahead, to give and receive charity, and to appreciate what we have that is truly of value in this world, and that of course is each other. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA
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