Hildegarde

Meaning, of course: and now for something completely different.

At least, completely different from what we’ve been doing lately.  I meant to do this last year, and then I got worried that I’d sound hectoring, so I didn’t.

But this year I keep running across stuff–hard to explain it any other way–and I thought I’d do it.

In the meantime, you might want to look here

http://www.frankfuredi.com/index.php/site/article/its_time_to_stand_up_for_courage_and_conviction/

which is a link I found at Arts and Letters Daily this morning.

It nears some relation to all this, if only peripherally.

So, what am I on about?

The holiday season is here, no matter what holidays you celebrate, and with it there are dozens of people and dozens of organizations that all want us to do something.

And, as far as I’m concerned, we should do something.

I’m not a romantic.  I’ve dealth with “targetted populations” long enough, and consistently enough, to understand that “the homeless” aren’t the pitiful victims of chance and circumstance that the volunteer organizations like to portray them as.  I know that not everybody who shows up at the food bank is short on groceries because they just haven’t been able to find a job in this economy.

I know it, and I don’t care.  One of the most startlingly impressive things I ever read in my life was a Latin essay–I don’t remember by whom, a minor writer, not somebody you’d recognize–written in around 200 or so AD/CE, explaining that the people were much drawn to the Christians because they gave charity without inquiring into the merit of those who needed it.

In other words, they fed the deserving poor and the bums alike, they tended the sick whether the sick were that way because they’d been struck by a rare disease or driven their health into the ground on vino.

So, as far as I’m concerned, charity–real charity–is a good thing, and we all ought to be engaged in it.

That said, I have some suggestions.

The first thing is that the best thing you can give is time.  Food banks, food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, toy drives all need people to man the cafeteria lines and to drive stuff here and there.

They especially need those things near or on the holidays.  Almost all soup kitchens serve Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner at some other time than actual Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner because most people want to be home with their own families when the holiday comes.

And I’m one of them, mostly.  We only did one year where we served Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving afternoon and one where we did Christmas, but late–we had Christmas dinner at noon at home and then did a round in the evening.

And Bill was still alive both those times, so you can figure out how long ago that was.

I want to be home for the holidays, you want to be home for the holidays.  But the poor and the homeless want to be home for the holidays, too, and it’s a great thing when the local soup kitchen can find enough people willing to work on the day to be able to serve on the day. 

So look into ways you can give your time, and if you’re stranded this holiday, see if you can’t find someplace that’s looking to do the holiday on the holiday for the people who otherwise wouldn’t have it.

Oh, and while we’re at it–Meals on Wheels has a lot of trouble finding people this time of year, at least some places.  They’re a good group to go to to give some time.

But on the subject of old people, the best thing you can do is invite one you know who’s alone–the old lady down the street, whoever–or go to visit if they can’t get out. 

The second thing is that, if you’re giving stuff, rather than time, and you’re contributing to an organization that works directly feeding and clothing the poor, give money.

I mean it. 

Most soup kitchens and food pantries are part of national networks that make it possible for them to buy food in bulk.  They may have drives for your cans and bottles, but they’ll be more than happy for money instead and they’ll do a lot more with it than you will.   Our local places up here say they can get enough food for 17 Thanksgiving dinners for $5. 

And while we’re at it: if you work at a food pantry or soup kitchen, or you just give to them, I wish you’d give some thought to solving the “please sir, can I have some more” problem that is endemic to the holidays.

By that I mean the fact that most of these places just don’t collect enough food or money to manage second helpings, even for children. 

And yes, I know why that problem is there and no, I don’t know how to solve it–but I wish I did.

Third, if you do give cans and bottles to things like a Boy Scout or a police drive, let me suggest this:  don’t just clean out your cabinets of everything you don’t want.  Go get some stuff you’d want and give that instead.

A lot of stores around here have two for one and three for one sales around this time of year–buy one, get one free; buy one, get two free. Go to those and give the “and free” to the drive.

People with little or no food will be grateful for what they can get, but they’re human.  Kidney beans and canned stewed tomatoes are all well and good, but it’s Thanksgiving.  Cranberry sauce and sweet corn would be nice. 

Finally, the holidays will come and go, and the rest of the year will be out there waiting.  And there’s a lot of the rest of the year. 

Time is short, and we’ve all got to make a living.

But, you know. 

Okay.

End of hectoring rant.