Fewer Campfires

Campfire melts snow during winter camping trip in Massachusetts.

     I don’t use matches to start a campfire in the morning. I place tinder over ash from the previous night’s fire. Then I blow on the ash. A campfire flickers to life. This combustive revival is especially nice during winter.
     The best thing about campfires is camaraderie with other people. Staring into flames is relaxing. Inhibitions loosen. There’s a greater degree of candor and conversation.
     Younger generations are missing out on these delights. Fewer of these people go camping. They want access to technology. Smartphones don’t always connect in wild areas. Some of these people are loathe to step away from the endless social media loop.
     An official at the national park service said that younger people are “more separated from the natural world than perhaps any generation before them.” What a sad observation.
     Not all young people are tethered to social media. One of my nephews—he’s early twenties in age—tethers himself to ropes and harnesses. He’s an avid mountaineer. He enjoys many a campfire with his friends.
     Campfires lighten our faces and lighten our moods.

Tuning Out Jesus

     Are composers of Christmas music snubbing Jesus?
     Yesterday at mass, I opened a missalette and sang the Christmas carol, What Child is This? The infant Jesus was featured in the lyrics.
     The congregation sang other carols. All of these songs were composed between 1600 and 1900. Again, the lyrics mentioned the birth of Christ.
     Jesus gets cold shouldered after 1900. Lots of Christmas songs have been composed but hardly any mention the infant in the manger. Hit songs include Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bell Rock, Sleigh Ride, Let it Snow, to name of few. The most popular song of the modern era remains White Christmas sung by Bing Crosby. I can identify only one song, Little Drummer Boy, that mentions the birth of Jesus.
     I can’t surmise why modern composers have tuned out Jesus. Christmas, after all, celebrates his birth.
     One fact intrigues me. The most popular Christmas song of them all—it blows away the competition even in modern times—is Silent Night. That carol dates back to 1816. It ends with the words, ‘Christ the Savior is Born.

Orange Aid

A pumpkin on my porch is situated near Christmas lights on a bush.

     My Halloween pumpkin looks awful. Pieces of skin have been ripped away. Some of the mushy interior is missing. Until this evening, the pumpkin rested on our porch.
     The damage, I suspect, is attributable to a fisher cat. It lives in a woodlot behind the yard. Last month I caught a glimpse of the cat. It was limping. Perhaps a car had stuck the animal. If so, this creature is having difficulty hunting prey. Desperate for food, the fisher cat—an omnivore—might be  browsing off the pumpkin.
     I feel sorry for the animal. On some nights I toss scraps of meat into the woods. These leftovers sometimes disappear within a couple of hours. But not the last handout. Crows squawked in the morning. They had stolen the meat. 
     Yesterday was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. I’ve read that some people feel gloomy on that date. Not me. I transferred the pumpkin to the woods. That way, the fisher cat will have easier access to food. Moving that pumpkin brightened my mood.
     Helping an animal in need—or a person for that matter—adds fulfillment in our lives.

Light From Within

     Pardon the cliche, but the difference is like night and day.
     Every December, a family in my neighborhood erects an eye-catching Christmas display. The scene is okay to look at during the afternoon but it’s not enchanting. There’s too much visual competition. Sunshine illuminates everything.
     At night the spectacle comes alive. The figures stand out because they’re illuminated from within.
     While comparing the two views, a metaphor comes to mind. Physical appearance matters, but what’s more important is revealing a light of humanity glowing within us.

Blitzing the Eyesores

     The caper begins with a precaution. I wear a baseball cap and look downward. My face is hidden from surveillance cameras.
     I enter a supermarket, stroll down an aisle, and kneel beside a floor advertisement. To the casual observer, I am inspecting products on the shelves.
     My actual purpose is subversive.
     Using a magic marker, I scrawl the words Profanity Space on the floor advertisement. Then I walk away. The plan is to fool store management into thinking a real profanity—the F U kind—might eventually appear.
     One week later I strike again. This time a different store within the supermarket chain is targeted.
     Word of this graffiti blitz would reach corporate headquarters. Upper management would freak. They’d fear an outbreak of crude graffiti inside their stores. The floor ads would be yanked.
     The scenarios I’ve described are fantasies. I won’t act on them. Defacing property—even onerous property—is illegal.
     Last month, a supermarket near my town began placing ads on their floors. My reaction was dismay. Is there no place where people can avoid advertisements?
     Actually, there is such a place. I’ll take my business to a competitor in the next town over. That market is respectful of my sensibilities. Their management does not clutter their floors with eyesores.

Infectious Joy

     I waited for the arrival of a presidential candidate. My eyes scanned the crowd in Ohio. A group of children had gathered by a downtown store. They were enjoying each other's company. Nothing special in that. Kids by nature revel in socializing.
     But this group was special. They exuded a joyfulness that was infectious.
     I wasn’t surprised. They wore uniforms from a private Catholic school.
     Photo assignments have taken me into lots of schools—private and public. I’ve noticed that religious school students, on average, seem happier than public school kids.
     Uniforms might contribute to the happiness of the religious kids. They wear the same outfits according to gender. There’s no pressure to wear trendy and expensive clothes.
     Public school students dress as they wish. With that freedom comes pressure.
     I prefer self expression revealed through personality rather than fashion.

Audio Siege

Landscapers operate leaf blowers at a condo complex adjoining my home.

     My annoyance began last spring.
     During early mornings, twice a month, a landscaping crew wakes me up. They operate leaf blowers. The sound is deafening. These people service a condo complex next door.
      I complained to their boss. For a while the noise began at a reasonable hour. Now the blowers are waking me up again.
     It would be great if my town banned leaf blowers.
     Resistance to such a proposal would be fierce. Landscapers argue that leaf blowers are necessary for their businesses. I don’t buy that argument. Rakes are effective and quiet.
     Some communities in California have banned the blowers. Guess what happened? The landscapers went back to using rakes.
     Lost in this controversy is the matter of courtesy. Those landscapers next door realize they’re waking neighbors up. But they don’t care. Money trumps courtesy.
     They should consider the words of the late John Wanamaker: Courtesy is the one coin you can never have too much of or be stingy with.

The Power of Metaphors

     Mother Nature beheaded Francis of Assisi. The statue of the saint was toppled by a gust of wind. It happened at a garden center in my town.
     The sight reminded me of the quote, “Francis, Francis, go and repair my house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.”
     Saint Francis claimed that God uttered those words to him. They were spoken while Francis prayed inside a chapel. The building was in dire need of repair. Francis renovated it.
     Later, Francis must have reconsidered God’s meaning of the word house; it referred not only to the chapel but to the Catholic religion.
     God had used a metaphor.
     People enjoy metaphors. When speakers use them, their presentations are strong.
     The same premise is applicable to the craft of writing. I read through online forums where people share opinions. The commentaries with metaphors are the easiest to comprehend.
     Even during ordinary conversations, metaphors have impact.
     Often in this world, communication skills factor into a one’s chances for success. A knack for metaphors can take a person several rungs up the ladder.