And A Christmas Poem was Created

After noticing my friend's perfect Christmas tree decorated with all white crystal ornaments,  it dawned on me that I never insist on decorating a Christmas tree"perfectly." 
I don't know if I have ever seen a Christmas tree like ours with crumbling, doughy, cracked angels barely able to hang onto the tree.


That night,  I started dreaming of a poem about our Christmas tree. The words in the poem didn't sound like me, at all, since I don't use words like, " whatnots" or "nought." 
In fact, I had to look the words up in the dictionary.

It was, as if, some old soul wrote the poem for me; although my oldest daughter gave me some advice on organizing it so I would get the point across. The point of continuing to hang old broken or deteriorating ornaments on our Christmas tree; the ones we made years ago, to hang beside the newly bought ones.  The old handmade ornaments reminds our family of Christmas Pasts when we enjoyed spending creative time together, making ornaments that would not sell in a decent Christmas shop.

In a Hurry to Die

 This story about a woman dying in an elevator is one of those "freaky accidents" that makes us stop to wonder, "How could this happen? That could happen to me. Should I be more cautious now?"


It's about an executive who was going to work one morning when the office building's elevator doors closed on her leg. Usually, the elevator doors automatically respond to resistance and open up again, so the person or object that stopped the action of the doors from closing, can safely enter or exit the elevator.
It seems that in this 'freaky accident', the doors did not respond to resistance and the woman's leg was caught in between the doors, pulling it up, along with the ascending elevator until it crushed the leg and killed the woman, somehow.  (I wasn't there)
This happened, in view, of two horrified elevator passengers who were traumatized by the entire incident. The article didn't mention the blood curdling scream that probably accompanied the accident.
I cannot even imagine this scene; unless I put myself into a trance.


This is an everyday, normal activity: walking on and off an elevator.
After hearing about this story, my husband decides to share his 'freaky' elevator story. The one I never
heard.
Why now? Isn't this important to know that elevators are dangerous; although, we take them for granted when they automatically respond to touch, like our home garage doors.


When electric doors don't respond, you can die, as simple as that. Never mind when the elevator doors open and there is No elevator...just follow the rule: Look before you leap.


So my husband tells me that he once tried stopping an elevator door from closing, years ago in a foreign country, when the doors closed on his arm. It terrified him, also, because he had to pull with all his strength to get his arm back.  In the process, the doors pulled his watch off, so his arm could slide through the closing doors, back to his body. He was so traumatized by the incident, he can't remember what happened to his watch.


Yes, we are always in a hurry and we depend on everyday electronically operated equipment to function perfectly and respond to our busy life style. Does it take a death to bring to our attention that everyday, what seems a normal activity, can be a life threatening factor. Somehow we don't think of elevators, like we think of driving a car on a high speed freeway. For one thing, we don't have a lot of control over the automatic doors, except to stay out of their way.


This should be a lesson in patience.
Let all automatic doors close and don't try to stop them from closing whenever you are in a hurry, just to be on the safe side.

One Jewish Perspective: Don't Blame God, If You Kick Him Out the Door

Sent to me via E-mail:

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America .

The following was written  by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday  Morning   Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every  single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me  even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled  trees, Christmas trees.  I don't feel threatened.  I don't feel  discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a  bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.  I don't think they are  slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind  of like it.  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters  celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that  there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach  house in Malibu .  If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me  as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting  pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting  pushed around for being Christians.  I think people who believe in  God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no  idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist  country.  I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it  being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it  another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship  celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God ?  I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.  But  there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from  and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many  jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little  different:  This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's  intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter  was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could  God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina)..   Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.  She  said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for  years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our  government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He  is, I believe He has calmly backed out.  How can we expect God to  give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us  alone?'
In light of recent  events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.  I think it  started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a  few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we  said OK.  Then someone said you better not read the Bible in  school.  The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal,  and love your neighbor as yourself.  And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock  said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their  little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem  (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide).  We said an expert should know  what he's talking about.  And we said okay.
Now we're asking  ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right  from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their  classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think  about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has  a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is  for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to  hell.  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question  what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail  and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages  regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how  lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace,  but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and  workplace.
Are you laughing  yet?
Funny how when you  forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list  because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you  for sending it.
Funny how we can be more  worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of  us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit.
If not, then just discard  it.... no one will know you did.  But, if you discard this thought  process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is  in.

My Best Regards,   Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein