Thursday, December 27, 2012

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL

CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, December 28, 2012
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
N. Pinal Ave. & W. McCartney Rd.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 28, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of N. Pinal Ave. & W. McCartney Rd. in Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

 

This week:

In an effort to get a head start on the new year, I’m slowly beginning to tackle some serious organizing around this house. My biggest strategy to get rid of so much of the STUFF that tends to pile up in my space. The goal is three-fold, in order of difficulty:

  • Recycle everything that we no longer need and wouldn’t be of use to anyone else but which can be turned into something else. With weekly curbside pickup by the city, all we have to do is dump this stuff into the blue bins and put them out by Friday morning.
  • Give away whatever can be used by someone else in its present form. Fortunately, we live three blocks from the Goodwill store and collection depot, and there are at least three more of that type of thrift store within two miles of our house. We have no excuse not to share while supporting good causes at the same time. The hard part about this is part of the task is that we actually have to box the stuff up and Jim has to haul it over to the thrift stores. That requires a bit of work, but it’s a good way to get some good use of out a husband in his retirement years.
  • File whatever we can still use. This is by far the hardest part of the task. Both of us tend to be ‘file-by-pile’ types, which is usually the best way for me to remember where something is, at least in the short term. I’m always trying different ways to organize my files, and then I can’t seem to remember how I did it. I could use a secretary. Heck, I could use a WIFE!

Anyway, wish me luck on this task. At the same time, I hope to get some of my own actual work done as this project moves along. Perhaps if I could accomplish a miracle and make this place neat and organized once and for all, I could concentrate solely on my work with a much better attitude and more energy. Pity I can’t just wrinkle my nose, but I am still just an ordinary human being, no matter what some people think. Ah, well.

Join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!
 

Friday Peace Vigil, Youngstown, OH, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
YOUNGSTOWN, OH
Friday, December 28, 2012
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.)

Ray Nakley (330-506-1999) and Ron Dull (330-518-9881) will hold their weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 28, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.), Youngstown, OH. They invite anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join them. Hold out positive thoughts for that!



PERSONAL

 

Well, as usual, I’m running behind, but still at least running! I’ll share a little more in my next post about the Casa Grande vigil, within the hour or so. Be sure to check back later.

Meanwhile, join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!
 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, December 21, 2012
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
N. Pinal Ave. & W. Cottonwood Ln.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 21, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of N. Pinal Ave. & W. Cottonwood Ln. in Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

 

This week:

Just a week ago, few people had heard of Sandy Hook Elementary School, or even Newtown, the small Connecticut town that on December 14, 2012, became the scene of the worst school shootings in America, if not in number of victims, at least because of the tender ages of 20 of the 27 people murdered by a lone gunman.

If one scrap of hope emerges from this horrendous event, let it be that this is the massacre that people do not forget with the passage of time. Let this nightmare spawn the birth of an unstoppable movement that leads to:

  • sensible laws limiting private access to weapons and ammunition designed only to murder people with frightening efficiency;
  • a humane system to deliver effective long-term care for people with various mental disabilies;
  • an effective means for professional care-givers to report anyone they feel might be a danger to themselves or others.

When I hear anyone ask why God allows such horrendous events, I remember the wisdom that Robbie Parker (see video, below) shared the day after the Sandy Hook murders. First he acknowledged the shootings of so many victims, including his own daughter, as an Act of Free Will committed by the gunman. Then this wise physician’s assistant promised to use his own Divine Gift of Free Will to honor the life and memory of 6-year-old Emilie by comforting his own family and helping anyone who needs it.

We should all remember this truth whenever we’re tempted to blame the actions of a flesh-and-blood human on an Invisible Spirit Who only wants us to do the right thing throughout our lives.

Join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

Friday Peace Vigil, Youngstown, OH, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
YOUNGSTOWN, OH
Friday, December 21, 2012
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.)

Ray Nakley (330-506-1999) and Ron Dull (330-518-9881) will hold their weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 21, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.), Youngstown, OH. They invite anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join them. Hold out positive thoughts for that!



PERSONAL:

I’ve been informed that until further notice, the Youngstown vigils will be held every Friday afternoon at this Downtown on the Square location. The peace group will join with several other groups that are standing up for various social causes, especially the ‘Faithful/Just Budget,’ so named because the current focus of our nation’s resources toward waging war by squeezing the poor and middle class to the max is so completely unjust.

On the other hand, the goal of the faithful followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ is to protect the welfare of those in need and provide every person with the means to enjoy a dignified life in peace and freedom. So if you happen to be in or near northeastern Ohio on a Friday afternoon, feel free to join the people who are standing up for the rights of all human beings all over the world.

Meanwhile, join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!
 

Friday, December 14, 2012

Appreciating the Cat-Prey Relationship


These two might be the cutest fur-babies on the planet,
but given half a chance, they’ll both follow their instincts
and dig their sharp fangs into a nice juicy mouse.





One of the great blessings of cohabiting with animal companions is the fact that it gives us a cat’s-eye view into the wonderful workings of nature. While we believe in protecting the earth and all its inhabitants as much as we can, we also respect the natural life cycles, including the marvelous science of the food chain among animals. That’s why we don’t get upset over the fact that our cats call the seed we scatter for the birds that daily visit our backyard 'bait.'

It’s not as bad as it sounds. Our two happily domesticated fur-babies mostly spend much of each morning sitting behind the sliding glass back door and watching the show outside. The birds that visit regularly are excellent flyers and very quick take-off artists. They don't even have to taxi down a runway to get an excellent head start on the occasional predator. They can quickly rise up out of harm’s way, just like little feathered helicopters.

If the odd bird does manage to get itself caught in the jaws of one of our pets, it’s usually carried inside for a foolish game the cats call ‘gotcha.’ Much to the feline’s chagrin, the sport usually ends with the bird escaping and flying around the house to land on the highest spot it can find. Then we have to tease it with a long stick while it flutters from one tall shelf to another, until it’s finally convinced to fly through the open back door, all the way to the safety of its home nest.

When the cats do manage to successfully corral their prey, it's either a mouse or, more often, a lizard, especially in the warmer months of the year. If we happen upon this scene indoors and the poor victim has already been dispatched to the great pasture beyond, we just scoop up the remains and put them out in the garden, where it will be eaten by bugs and fertilize the desert ground. In fact, my standard requiem prayer for each lizard stiff as I carry it to its sandy grave is: "Bugs you ate and by bugs you will be eaten."

On the other hand, if we discover that the victim still survives, we try to interrupt the usual kitty-prey play time by catching it ourselves and carrying it to safety outside. When we return to find our fur-child wondering why his impressive conquest was prematurely terminated, we try once again to explain that our home is as much a sanctuary for all creatures great and small as we can manage.


And though we completely respect the wildest instincts that are inherent even in the smallest and cutest creatures on the planet, when they happen to be God’s perfect little hit-kitties, we’ve got to lay down the law: The killing fields shall continue to remain outside the confines of our house.
 


If a cat sees you first and you’re not
fast enough, watch out, little birdie!



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, December 14, 2012
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
N. Pinal Ave. & E. Kortsen Rd.

Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) will hold his weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 14, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of N. Pinal Ave. & E. Kortsen Rd. in Casa Grande, AZ. Tony invites anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join him. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

 

This week:

 

I’m absolutely delighted to post this announcement that our peace-loving friends are back from their summer sojourn in Ohio. As long as Tony continues his faithful Friday afternoon vigils on various street corners around town, I’ll happily post notices of both the Casa Grande vigils and the ones that continue to be held each Friday afternoon in and around Youngstown.

Now, here’s a challenge to our neighbors who love peace: When I’m able, I hope to join Tony, and I’ll bring along my husband, Jim, as well. I can’t promise much, but I’ll do what I can. Meanwhile, I’ll keep you updated on where Tony will be each week and hope that you will also plan to stand with Tony and let people know that war is an outdated custom that we must eradicate from the planet.

If you’d like to find out more about the vigils and the cause of peace, feel free to call Tony at 520-426-0070. He’s a really nice guy and very easy to talk to. And he has a lot of experience over many years standing up for and helping people in need.

Join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!
 

Friday Peace Vigil, Youngstown, OH, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
YOUNGSTOWN, OH
Friday, December 14, 2012
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.)

Ray Nakley (330-506-1999) and Ron Dull (330-518-9881) will hold their weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 14, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.), Youngstown, OH. They invite anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join them. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

 

This week:

 

The good news this week is that my peace-loving friend, Tony Fasline, has settled back here in nice, comparitively warm Casa Grande, AZ, for the winter season, and he’ll hold his first vigil at the corner of N. Pinal Ave. & E. Kortsen Rd. tomorrow. I’ll post that notice in a few minutes, as soon as I write my weekly personal update as part of that post.

As long as Tony continues to hold his vigils here and I also have the schedule for the Youngstown vigils, I’ll continue to post separate notices of each one around this time each week. I’ll include my personal messages with the local notices, so watch for them as well.

Meanwhile, join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!
 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Civil Rights For All: Remember International Human Rights Day



Scene from one of the witch trials that took place in
Salem, Massachusetts Colony, in 1692.
The central figure in this 1876 illustration of the
courtroom is usually identified as Mary Walcott.



In honor of International Human Rights Day, I’m reprinting an article I originally wrote for my November 16, 2005, column in the Arizona City Independent/Edition and later included in my essay collection, The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace. It’s important on this auspicious occasion to remind people that all human beings have basic rights that must be acknowledged, respected, and protected.


My dictionary defines "civil rights" as "the rights, privileges, and protection given to citizens" (Oxford American Dictionary, pocket edition, 1979/1980). The book goes on to explain that the "civil rights movement" is "an organized movement to secure civil rights for blacks and other minorities in the U.S." (The italics in both definitions are mine!)

Many civil-rights activists need to check their dictionaries--and their hearts--so they can get their perspective straight on the issue of just who all those civil rights belong to. They seem to believe that only members of their minority group own the power to define which rights apply to members of other minority groups. Besides denying many rights to gays and lesbians, people involved in civil-rights movements have actually informed me, a person disabled by chronic illness, that people with disabilities have no civil rights--the Americans with Disabilities Act notwithstanding!

Sadly, this attitude is neither unusual nor new. The history of civil rights has always involved groups that fought to obtain their own rights, then denied those rights to others. Each November Americans gather around sumptuous turkey dinners to commemorate a group of religious pilgrims who left their European homeland to establish a colony where they were free to worship as they chose. Unfortunately, those same pilgrims adamantly refused to extend that right to others.

In fact, the Puritans of Massachusetts are probably best known for the witch trials of Salem, in which 19 people were executed and scores of others tortured and imprisoned when the false claims of two young girls incited the prejudices of that fanatical religious sect. And though the colony would have failed without aid from local natives, within a few years these immigrants were waging war on the same Indians with whom they’d celebrated their first "harvest festival" in 1621.

After America gained independence as a nation, abolitionists began fighting to free black slaves. On the other hand, most of the men and some of the women working for that cause refused to extend the same consideration to women, though the experience of most women paralleled that of many slaves and the earliest suffragists were also abolitionists. Thus, when the 15th Amendment was ratified, the law applied only to black men. It was another 50 years before women of any color gained the legal right to vote in national elections.

That’s why I’m not surprised that many people working for the betterment of people of color don’t understand that civil rights are inherent to every human being. Moreover, this narrow attitude is not limited to our own country.

Regarding the Third Reich, Martin Niemoeller explained, "In Germany, they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Though he acknowledged several different groups whose rights--and even lives--were abridged by that infamous regime, even Pastor Niemoeller ignores the minority group that Hitler’s minions targeted first. Niemoeller’s statement should have opened with this sentence: "In Germany, they came first for the people with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities, and I didn't speak up because I was healthy."

The sad fact is, many execution methods that were later used to murder millions of people in Nazi death camps were originally "tested" on small groups of people with various disabilities and physical abnormalities, such as dwarfism. Others with serious and even incurable medical conditions spent the war years in government "hospitals," where doctors performed cruel medical experiments that enhanced their suffering and often led to their early demise.

Those who claim that certain civil rights are the exclusive purview of their particular group and apply only to those who share a similar experience should remember the lessons of Nazi Germany. History is replete with examples of groups that were targeted, harassed, tortured, and eventually wiped out because others lacked the courage or concern to speak up for the rights of everyone.

In the world I imagine, society will protect all the inherent rights of every single human being, no matter their minority status. This can be accomplished only by eliminating the tool that people in power now use to perpetuate the conflicts between minority groups: poverty.

By limiting access to the resources that people need to enjoy a dignified existence, governments and businesses are able to exercise more control over the lives of the people in their sphere of influence. People and groups who are being manipulated in this way often view other individuals and groups who need the same resources in a competitive light, and vice-versa.

These people usually fail to understand that if people were to cooperate, and even join forces, with those they perceive as their enemies, they might be able to generate enough power to upset the status quo and spread the resources around for all to enjoy. Thus, poor people who fight among themselves for mere crumbs could become a mighty army for good and, with positive force, convince the government to help them work to end poverty forever.

Of course, poverty will end only when all the basic goods and services necessary for a dignified existence are available to every person on the planet at a cost of no more than half the amount earned by the lowest-paid full-time worker. When that becomes a reality, humans can finally begin to build a peaceful society where no one questions the rights of any other person, for the first time in the history of this planet.
 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Friday Peace Vigil, Youngstown, OH, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
YOUNGSTOWN, OH
Friday, December 7, 2012
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Market St. & Midlothian Blvd.

Ray Nakley (330-506-1999) and Ron Dull (330-518-9881) will hold their weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, December 7, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the corner of Market St. & Midlothian Blvd., Youngstown, OH. They invite anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join them. Hold out positive thoughts for that!

 

This week:

 

This weekend, I watched a video on MoveOn.org’s Daily Share page in which Robert Redford urges people to support President Obama’s stand against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Redford’s message prompted me to write and post an article explaining why we have to invest in and develop all the clean green sustainable energy projects we can manage right now. We can’t wait another fifty or a hundred years. We’ve wasted enough time already.

I have more things to say, and over time I’ll continue to write and post those articles. Meanwhile, I’m also trying to focus on my long-term project, a novel which will also support the message for ending poverty and war and building a society in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Old vs. New Energy: Why the old arguments are just as dirty as fossil fuels

For the life of me, I cannot understand why so many people continue to argue against investing in green energy, especially when all the fossil-fuel apologists keep repeating the same old tiresome arguments. For instance, there’s the idea that green energy is a job killer. Give me a break!

JOB GENERATOR

It takes work to build and install solar panels, windmills, and the many other types of non-polluting equipment used to generate and deliver all that glorious power just waiting to be gleaned from the renewable resources and natural forces of our planet. Then there are all the people who will be needed to run and maintain green energy-generating equipment. Just what do the hordes of old-energy protagonists call those jobs? Chopped liver?

Green energy won’t kill any more jobs than fossil-fuel energy does. In fact, just as old energy powered so many new industries during the 20th-century, clean energy from wind, sunlight, steam, etc., will spur even more industries that are yet to be born, or even conceived, well into the future.

JOB KILLER

Actually, I confess that there are some jobs green energy will kill. As we switch from old energy to clean green energy over the years, there’s bound to be a diminishing need for the high cost of cleaning up the environment from all the damage now being done by filthy fossil fuels. This means our society will enjoy gradually lower rates of the vast range of physical ills now being triggered and aggravated by that same pollution. We’ll experience dwindling costs for treating asthma, heart disease, various types of cancer, and much, much more. Then there are all the lives that will be saved because fewer people will work in fossil-fuel industries who now die much too early, from job-induced illnesses and the more immediate dangers of explosions and mine cave-ins.

ATOMIC ENERGY

And all the arguments against fossil fuels go double for the most dangerous energy industry of all. Atomic power plants are more expensive to build than all the others, and there are more things that can go wrong with them. Most important of all is the fact that a single accident can destroy the viability of an entire region in mere hours, after the resulting poison in the atmosphere kills or sickens untold numbers of people. Why anyone would want to continue to use such a dangerous resource is beyond me. It’s about time our society stopped playing with the most volatile elements on the planet for nothing more than filthy lucre and turn to the least dangerous--and eventually, the least costly--of all the resources available for the benefit of mankind.

PRODUCTION COSTS

But what about the cost of investing in the development, production, and installation of equipment to capture and deliver power from wind, sunlight, and more, energy that’s now going to waste? Well, just how much money did it take to develop, build, and install all the power generation and delivery systems that depend on fossil fuels that will run out in the foreseeable future? Just what do old-energy propagandists think our industries and vehicles are supposed to do for go-juice once those fossil fuels do run out?

Oh, yes, they predict that oil and gas are going to last another century, and we’ll enjoy the benefits of coal (which they claim is ‘clean’ now, but more about that below) for at least another couple of centuries. But what happens after that? And what about the fact that long before these filthy resources completely run out, our society will experience more inconveniences and higher prices for the fossil fuels they now worship with such reverence? The fact is, there’s going to be a growing scarcity of those resources, and few but the wealthiest among us will actually be able to afford them anyway. If we haven’t already developed the requisite clean-energy replacements for all that dirty oil and coal by the time they do run out, all the modern conveniences we now take for granted will be totally useless.

‘CLEAN’(?) COAL

Lately, the coal industry has been paying a ton of cash to advertise that not only is coal going to last longer than any other fossil fuel, it’s also much cleaner than it used to be. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, their lobbyists are spending more wads of the industry’s profits to convince politicians that it would cost them too much to install and run the equipment needed to actually clean up their product,. They want the government to abolish regulations that require the clean-energy treatments they tout in their spurious ads. The truth is, they intend to keep on polluting the environment the way they always have. Coal-industry advocates don’t want anyone to put two and two together and realize how much they’re contradicting themselves. Owners and executives of coal companies simply do not want to be responsible members of society. It’s long past time we made sure they do nothing less than the right thing for a change.

ENERGY RATES

Then there’s the last--and lately, the most popular--argument that switching from dirty old fossil fuels to clean green energy is going to make electricity rates go up. This is the least valid argument of all. The current low rates of old-energy electricity and vehicle fuels are a direct result of the many tax manipulations that benefit fossil-fuel corporations and allow them to provide their products at lower rates while continuing to reap obscene profits. Similar tax support would allow the development and installation of green energy facilities. Even better, in the long run, the lower costs of running and maintaining these new, 21st-century industries would actually result in much lower rates than we now pay for fossil fuel products--even without tax advantages.

BUILD FOR THE FUTURE NOW

We must focus as much of our resources as we can toward developing clean energy right now, without delay. In fact, it would make perfect sense for all the old-fuel industries to start investing their ungodly profits in that effort. That way they’ll be even richer in the far-flung future than they are today. Otherwise, we, and the traditional energy sector, are headed for even worse economic disaster than anything experienced before. Not only must we make every effort to support the development of green energy industries, we must also do everything in our power to stop the perpetuation of the filthy, polluting old-energy industries that are now enjoying too much advantage in our economy and society.

That’s why I’ve posted the following video, in which Robert Redford explains why we must stop the oil industry from building the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline straight through the heart of our country:


 
 
Take action:
 
nrdc.org/energy/dirtyfuels_tar.asp

 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

'TIS THE SEASON . . . ?

I first wrote this article for my December 20, 2000, column in the Arizona City Independent/Edition. Two years later, I began an annual tradition of reprinting the piece in my column around the beginning of this holiday month. I hope these thoughts encourage people to think about the importance of remembering the needs of less fortunate people, not only during the year-end holiday season, but throughout the year.

Each year at this time we can do something we should be doing all year long, but it takes more effort at other times than in the waning weeks of the year: We can share some of our bounty with those less fortunate than ourselves.

I'm not talking about writing a check to a charity that spends almost as much on expenses as they do for the people they’re supposed to help. Now is the time when we can do something that genuinely touches people in need. In my opinion, two of the easiest choices available at this time of year are giving food to hungry people and donating to the Salvation Army.

No, this isn’t a rah-rah fund-raising plea, just my musings on the fact that it feels great to drop food into those big grocery-store barrels or stuff a dollar into the ubiquitous red pots--in spite of all the jokes about the incessant bell ringing. In fact, I can't fight the urge; I have to share an experience that made me smile the first holiday season after our move to Arizona.

Sitting in our car on a Saturday after Thanksgiving, I noticed a man chatting for several minutes with the lady tending the red pot in front of the grocery store. As she talked, she never missed a beat with those bells. Instead of the single-clapper school bell of many Salvation Army volunteers, she fulfilled her spiritual duty by shaking a ribbon sprinkled with jingle bells, reminding me of sleighs and reindeer. As she chatted, her hand never stopped its rhythmic movement, up and down, up and down, while her arm barely stirred.

I first thought she'll be plagued with carpal tunnel syndrome by the end of the year. Then I had a truly wicked idea: I wonder if any of the generous people who spend December standing outside in all kinds of weather ever go stark raving mad from the sound of their own bells!

When I dropped my token into the pot, the bell ringer gave me a tiny card with uplifting Bible quotes, since their Christian faith drives these dedicated people. But the simple statement on the back touched me most deeply. Next to an artistic rendition of the familiar red Salvation Army pot and silver bell are the words: "Need Knows No Season." That’s true for hunger as well.

When we lived in Texas in the ‘80s, Houston grocery stores never put away the big red barrels, making it easy for shoppers to drop in a can of veggies or a bag of pasta all year round. But when I moved to Cumming, GA, in 1991, I was shocked to discover that this wasn’t the policy in other areas, even in stores owned by the same company.

Sadly, stores in most places collect food from shoppers one or two seasons a year. The rest of the time, food banks scramble to keep their shelves filled. Most people seem to forget that even poor people need more to eat than turkey and trimmings once a year.

When I mentioned this to a grocery manager in Georgia, he wasn’t too interested in the subject. "That's the way it is," he said. But how difficult is it for stores to do the right thing? If they kept the barrels out after the dawn of the new year, instead of stowing them away until the next holiday season, we could all practice more of the true spirit of giving that this season is supposed to be about. I'm sure the people at food banks would make sure all the extra food they received made it to people in need.

To give the devil his due, that store manager did tell me the "reason" he considered food barrels a "problem." He didn't like dealing with them even during the holidays because some people threw trash in them, instead of nonperishable items for the local food bank.

Well, bah humbug! It does take effort to do the job right, but it's not an insurmountable problem. Many barrels I've seen aren’t labeled as collection bins for a food bank; they’re just huge, often drab, metal cans. This explains why people mistake them for something other than a means to help their neighbors in need.

If that's the case, then why don't store employees or food bank volunteers mark the barrels appropriately? If collection bins at every store were painted bright red and stickers, visible from every angle, bore the names of the food banks where contributions are sent, then people wouldn’t mistake them for trash bins and they’d donate more food for poor people in the community.

Another problem is the location of barrels. I've seen them sitting outside stores, making them prime targets for pilfering. Some were next to courtesy booths, so they were obvious only to people with business there. Placing them between cash registers and store shelves, where people have to go around them to get to the registers, doesn't help as much as managers think. By the time customers finish checking out, they're thinking about getting home, instead of going back--and into the path of other shoppers--to drop something into the barrels.

The best place, in my experience, is just inside the doors where people enter and leave the stores. When barrels are placed so prominently, especially if they're brightly decorated so shoppers can really see them, people are more likely to remember to add something to their list before they pick up their own provisions, and they can drop items into the barrels on their way out of the stores.

I didn't come up with these ideas myself. Of all the examples I’ve observed over the years, this was the best of the lot. I can tell you that at least one store in Texas got everything right. I'm just smart enough to recognize a good idea when I steal it! And I'm not bashful about passing it along.

In that spirit, I offer this gift to those who like what I’ve written here: Please feel free to make a copy of this column and take it to the manager of your favorite grocery store. Ask them why the store doesn't keep a food barrel displayed, in a prominent and convenient location, all year round. And pass along my suggestion about decorating it so it’ll never be mistaken for anything other than what it is: a means for more of us to do our little bit to help our fellow human beings in need, as the Quakers say, "whenever the spirit moves us."

I wish that the season be joyful, whether you honor it through Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa, and I hope you have a truly happy new year indeed.