Letter to New York State

Dear New York State,

For over 10 years now I have had to work hard, pay my taxes and abide by the laws of the state.  I continue to work hard at a poor paying retail job while living with my parents all so I do not have to bother you for welfare and financial assistance.

When I was in school I was told to work hard, go to college and apply myself.  I was promised a world of opportunity would be opened to me.  I did just that.  I went to work out of High School to help pay for books and college tuition.  I started at a local Community College and eventually transferred to a University in the SUNY school system where I successfully earned a BA in History and a Master's in Education.

I still have yet to see the world of opportunity I was promised.  Instead, I still find myself making below the poverty line with no possibility for jobs in the field of education.  I read in the newspaper regularly about more budget cuts, teacher layoffs, school closings and district restructuring.  I along with many other competent and NYS certified teachers sit on the side lines while the doors of employment stay closed to us.

Like many of my classmates, I sought work as a substitute teacher looking to get my foot in the door.  What I have found is that the only door I can manage to get my foot into is the "exit".  Should I be fortunate enough to stumble across a district that may have a potential opening in my field, I become one of thousands of applicants for that one opening... usually to find that the job was eliminated all together for lack of funding.

As I work my retail job day after day, contemplating the vast amount of money I paid to attend New York State schools, and become New York State certified, and all the hoops I jumped through to meet the high teaching standards of New York State, I also get to work with the products of your school system.  The same school system that you are constantly making budget cuts to and from which you are eliminating staffing.

The educational budget cuts being made in this state and across the country have indeed trickled down to my job... where all day I have to take customers by the hand to help them do simple tasks in a store which they cannot seem to figure out on their own.  Young people can no longer follow directions, speak or write proper English or adequately comprehend what they read.

I can't help but wonder: if so many people like myself, who worked hard for an education and to be as independent as possible (resisting public assistance) can not find work, then what will become of this new "breed" of adult that our public school systems are producing?  Without the qualified staff, small classrooms, extracurricular programs and support staff in place in our schools, you are creating a new generation of adults who have been used to getting "pushed through" the system, lacking many of the basic tools it takes to survive in the world, and expect them to become contributing members of society?

You may be saving money in the short term, but I hate to think of the money you will be paying out in the very near future when these countless students walk out into the world as adults unable to stand on their own two feet.  I wonder how many of them will even be able to spell, "unemployment".

Salmagundi!

Few things in life make me feel happier than a new hat.  Every season I think I have all the hats I possibly need... but then... I see it... another hat I simply cannot live without!!!  My porkpies are after all my signature piece!  I can't ever say no to one!

I wonder if there is a Betty Ford type clinic for people like me?

Maybe I am somehow related to Lucy Ricardo who could never pass up that new hat in the hat store window.

Speaking of hat stores.. I stumbled across a store in Boston last summer when I was tracking down a Panama straw diamond porkpie from Bigalli hats.  The company gave me a list of their American distributors to try and find the particular hat style I was looking for.

The last store on the list was Salmagundi.  They didn't have an online store (though, much to my great excitement, they appear to be creating one!), but I figured I had nothing to lose... so I sent my message off to cyber space oblivion and hoped for the best.

Literally within minutes, I got a reply from one of the shop owners, Jessen.  Do you know how often I have contacted companies and stores and don't get a response for days???  This was a good omen.

Sure enough, Salmagundi had the illusive hat in stock!  Jessen even did his best to find me a hat that would best compliment the shape of my head (long oval for those of you hat freaks who are "in the know" for hat termonology).  Granted, these hats come in sizes S - M - L - XL, but sometimes the shape does have a tendency to differ from hat to hat.

I gladly placed the order and in record timing, found the hip little Salmagundi hat box on my front porch containing my amazing new summer hat -- which was indeed a perfect fit!

Part of me wants to open up a hat store here in Buffalo, but knowing little about business... and also knowing there would probably be little demand in this area for one, it will remain a pipe dream.  But honestly, part of me wants to ditch the effort to look for the even more illusive teaching job, move to Boston, and work for Jessen and his crew!

Feel free to check out their blog that I have linked above.  You'll see they have much more than just hats.. though the hats are reason enough for me to love them!  If you're in Boston, stop by and see them in person -- or, if you're like me, you can wait eagerly for their online website to open.  :)

Things that go for walks in the night.

I will never ever join a gym.  Ever.  My form of exercise has always been going for walks.  It helped me years ago drop from 305 pounds and a 52 waist down to 180.  Now that my weight has ballooned back up, I have decided to get walking again.

I'm not a fan of walking during the day.  I'm a night owl by nature and sunburn passing a window... so I generally get the urge to wander about after dark.  This is ironic since I was afraid of the dark as a kid.  Now, it's common for me to be strolling around my neighborhood at 10 or 11pm.

Tonight, I ventured out into the cold night air around 10... I love winter walks provided the ice isn't bad.  I do so much better in the colder temps, and can walk longer.  The only problem I seem to have is that my back (I have lower back problems) tenses up more in the winter temperatures.. causing me to rely on my walking stick a bit more than I do in the warmer months.

I got a few blocks from my house.. lost in thought.. minding my own business, when I see a strange black figure walking towards me on the opposite side of the street... carrying a lantern of sorts... and a walking a little dog.  It scared the hell out of me..  at first, it looked like the Grim Reaper was taking Toto for a walk!  Gripping my walking stick tighter.. ready to beat the be-jebus out "death" should "it" decide to cross the street.. I kept staring at this thing walking parallel to me.

As I got closer... from my side of the street mind you... I noticed it was a person (a woman from the sound of the voice talking to the dog), wearing the most bizarre long coat I have ever seen.  Even the cuffs of the sleeves hung down in a flowing manner.. just like you'd expect to see on a Grim Reaper costume... it even looked like the coat had a hood!  The "lantern" it looked like she was holding turned out to be an LED head-band flashlight that hikers use so they can free their hands for climbing.  What an odd outfit to be wearing to walk one's dog!  And here I thought wearing pajama pants and slippers to go shopping was messed up.

I live in a rather quiet and safe suburb north of Buffalo... had I been in the city proper I would not have been all that surprised...but not in my area.  Here, the only thing I generally come across are people in those annoying matching velour track suits... with the matching headband of course.  But death?  Nope.. never expected to run into him... err... her out for a stroll.

Christmas is coming....

I can't believe how quickly time is going.  Today is already the fourth Sunday of Advent.. so light the third purple candle.. the final candle on the Advent wreath.

Though I've had my Christmas decorations up for a while, I have not been in the Christmas spirit.  Working retail one is bombarded with negative people.. yelling and fighting over items being in stock, their orders not in on time, etc.  I come home exhausted and find myself waiting for the season to be over.

This is not to say I'm anti-Christmas.  On the contrary.. I am very much looking forward to the celebration of Christmas morning Mass... the ringing of the bells at the return of the Gloria being sung once again.  I'm just over the whole commercial aspect of the holiday.  Trees are great.. gifts are great.. but when people forget the humble origins of Christmas, the holiday becomes nothing more than an excuse to go into debt.

I have included a picture of my modest Christmas tree.  I didn't have the desire or energy to drag out my usual artificial tree (real trees are too expensive for me) -- assemble it, decorate it.. and eventually pack the whole thing up.  I went out in search of an easy tree.

I found the perfect "Charlie Brown" tree at a local nursery.  I always loved the sparse trees that no one else could possible love.  So when I saw this 5 1/2 odd ball, I had to take it home.  The sales lady was a bit surprised... she had no idea what someone would do with such a tree.

Once decorated, like Charlie Brown's little tree.. it looks quite nice.  I love how the ornaments really stand out.. and believe it or not, it holds ALL the ornaments I put on my fat 7ft tree. - AND, it only take two minutes to assemble and disassemble.  No fuss tree!

For those who are fans of Victorian style Christmases, you will recognize this tree as a "feather tree".. the first style of artificial trees available.. originally made out of goose feathers on wooden dowels. Other people though may think of the line from the famous "Christmas Story" movie:  "It looks like it was made of... green pipe cleaner!".  My favorite comment came from my godson Gavin, who when seeing the picture of facebook said it looks like a twig.  So there it is, my Christmas "twig".

You may note the nativity set - it belonged to my Grandparents.  They purchased it their first Christmas together back in 1953, and it was under their tree ever since.  I am a strict believer though that baby Jesus does not get put into the crib until Christmas morning.  In a time when Christmas decorations go up in November, I think it's important to remember that the real joy of Christmas comes when we mark the birth of the Word made Flesh.

While I try to keep up with my baking and finish my shopping.. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas -- and want you to remember that despite the glitz and glamour this holiday may offer... it all started with a poor child born in a stable... laid to rest where animals feed.  "Keep Christ in Christmas!"  :)

Gaudete!

Today is the third Sunday of Advent - also known as Gaudete Sunday.  It is named after the first word of today's Intoit prayer: Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete: modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus: Dominus prope est. (Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.  Philippians 4:4-5).  


Today is one of two days in the year where the color of the vestments used at Mass may be Rose colored.  Note I said rose and not pink.  The idea of using Rose vestments is to show on this Sunday the excitement we feel in our hearts at the coming of the Lord.  As it says in the words of the Introit, we Rejoice in the Lord always.  Rose is a color between the Advent color of purple (penance and waiting) and the Christmas color of white.. a sign that our waiting is almost at an end.  We know the Lord is coming.


As the color of the candles on our Advent wreath reflect the liturgical colors of the season, we light the rose colored candle today.  Some people mistakenly light the rose colored candle on the last Sunday of Advent... now you are in the know and can correct such Liturgical faux pas.  :)

Like many of you, I have been busy writing out and sending Christmas cards.  I enjoy this practice, except for the high cost of stamps.  I look forward to sending and receiving cards and the small notes and letters that sometimes accompany them.  They also make for great decorations!


I've noticed a trend though among people I have exchanged cards with in the past.  I try to be very sensitive to the beliefs of my family and friends.  I wish my Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah (even though I am not Jewish), send out Religious Cards to my friends and family who are practicing Christians, and have the secular "holiday" cards for those who are not "religious", but still enjoy a secular version of the holiday season.  After all, my mind set is not to use this holiday to push my beliefs down people's throats -- that would be counter productive.. but to join them in a sense of joy and celebration.


This sentiment has not been reciprocated.


Every year, people still insist on writing within cards or in Facebook messages: "Merry Xmas!".  I do not celebrate "Xmas".. I celebrate Christmas.  I can't stand this abbreviation.  Though it may have started out as a Christian abbreviation for Christmas, using the Greek letter X to represent the first letter in Christ's name (in the old Greek spelling), it has now been used to take Christ out of Christmas, and make it purely a commercial and secular holiday.


My friends know how I feel, and yet they still can't bring themselves to wish me, a practicing Catholic, a Merry CHRISTmas.  Now, when I see "Xmas" written somewhere, I have taken to putting a "P" on top of the "X"... to make the Greek symbol of Christ's name known as the "chi-rho".  

Oh well... I'm still Rejoicing today.. still writing CHRISTmas cards and trying to gear up for the baking that I will soon be doing.   :)

Happy Liturgical New Year!

The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new year on the Church's Liturgical calendar.  We light the first candle on the Advent wreath, which counts the number of Sundays until the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Day). 

There are debates about the origins of the Advent wreath.. some say it is a German Lutheran tradition, some argue a German Catholic tradition.  Personally, it makes no difference to me.  Lutherans share some Liturgical similarities with Catholics, so it would be natural for our two traditions to share this symbol of Advent.

Originally, it is said, the colors of the candles on the wreath were all red.  This practice is still maintained in Germany... and even the Holy Father's Advent wreath used all red candles last year (he being from Bavaria).  It was some time later that the candles of the wreath corresponded to the liturgical colors of the Sundays of Advent to bring an even closer association of the holiday symbols with the Mass.

The first candle that we lit this Sunday corresponds to the Liturgical vestments of purple, the color of penance as well as royalty to welcome the coming of the King.  The purple reminds us to prepare ourselves through prayer and penance to make our souls ready not only for the celebration of the birth of Christ, but His second coming at the end of time.

Need a little Christmas NOW!

Work has been getting to me lately.  I've been working at the big W full time and though it helps on pay day, it takes its toll on my nerves.  People are just so nasty and rude... it really wears one down.

So like the song says, "I need a little Christmas now...".  So I decided I would "haul out the holly" and "put up the tree before my spirits fall again."

I do have a full size tree in the sitting room on my TINY - micro apartment within my parent's home, but I had always loved the old aluminum trees from the 1950s and 1960s.  I would never want one as my only tree, but there is just something about them I always liked.

This year, while visiting a local nursery famous for their Christmas decor, I came across a 3ft aluminum style Christmas tree that I went nuts for.  I have seen many silver trees over the years, but they don't have the sparse look of the original style aluminum trees (and yes, they were aluminum.. made out of aluminum foil).  When I saw this little silver gem.. I had to bring it home with me.  I always loved the Charlie Brown trees.

The problem was: where to put it?  It ended up finding a home in my bedroom... where I spend a lot of my time lately at my desk.  I decided to put it up now and decorate it since I needed a little holiday boost.  It turned out rather nice if you ask me... shining in all it's silver glory.

Also, when I got home from work... tired and cranky from a long day in retail Hell... I noticed a red light coming from my sitting room window.  Puzzled, I looked in the window, and there... on the shelf.. was a Santa "head" that I had liked from a recent QVC show selling retro inspired Christmas decorations.  My Mom had bought it for me as a surprise, and left it on a shelf in the sitting room lit up.

Again, it's so odd looking it's cute.  The large sized light bulb nose is so ridiculous it makes me laugh just looking at it.  My Dad and I refer to it as the "red light district Santa" for obvious reasons.

This little surprise made my day!!!

"For I've grown a little leaner (I wish!!!), grown a little colder.. grown a little sadder.. grown a little older. And I need a little angel.. sitting on my shoulder... I need a little Christmas NOW!"