Some Thoughts on My Christmases

It is the time of year that Paul McCartney calls that "Wonderful Christmas Time" and I agree. For me Christmas has always been a wonderful time.

When I was a child it was a a wonderful time because I was out of school and anticipated a day certain when I would get something special for me. Indeed, I still enjoy viewing the old tattered photos and reliving Christmases past. In fact, I loved Christmas so much that when Susan and I married it was at Christmas time.

It was also a time when I knew we would all gather at my aunt's house as an extended family. Family members would come from all over to be a part. All of my father's brothers and sisters would be there as would all my cousins. As I grew older the gathering grew larger as our children and those of my cousins joined the gathering. We would exchange gifts, sing hymns and carols of the season and end the day with the reading of the Biblical account of the birth of Christ.

It all made for a "Wonderful Christmas Time." For me however, the wonderful part of it all was the coming together of the Appleby clan. It was a recognition that while we all lived our own individual lives and had our own families we were everyone part of a larger family that shared a common heritage of faith and hope. It was a sad day for me when this gathering ended. In a lot of ways I have always hoped for a rebirth of this Appleby Family Tradition.

(Someone recently mentioned to me that maybe in our electronic age we could do the same thing using Skype or some other electronic hook-up. Sorry, it may be the best we can do in our day but it just isn't the same. Reaching out and touching an image on a screen is just not my idea of family.)

When I had children of my own I again relived these childhood days through watching my children come Christmas morning to the tree in anticipation that old Saint Nick had been there and left something special just for them. Christmas seems to bring out the child in all of us and watching my children around the tree Christmas morning searching for gifts with their names on them was like being a child again myself.

Well, the years have come and the years have gone and I have celebrated 63 Christmases and have yet to be disappointed. These days it is not the gifts that come in brightly wrapped packages. In fact I don't believe it ever was about the brightly wrapped packages. It has always been about the people and our relationships . . . family and how important we are to one another.

This Christmas gathering was a reaffirmation that we were Appleby's one and all and that we shared a common Christian heritage that extended back for generations and was to be perpetuated in our own lives and individual families.

Don't get me wrong. I still love Christmas time. Just wish it weren't so much about the gifts. What I really wish is that there was some way to recapture some of what we had back then. I don't really believe that we can recreate the experiences but I do believe we could make a little more effort in providing an environment in which our children and grandchildren can experience something similar to what was such a meaningful influence in our own lives.

With that said, I wish for you and yours a . . .

Very Merry Christmas!

Why I Prefer "Merry Christmas" over "Happy Holidays."

I prefer the greeting "Merry Christmas" over "Happy Holidays." In my judgement "Merry Christmas" more clearly expresses the core meaning of the season we celebrate in December. Now before you jump all over me about swallowing and elephant and straining at a gnat let me explain my thinking.

First let me say that I am very much aware that the term holiday is a contraction between the word holy and the word day and has as its original meaning holy days and as such "Happy Holidays" was a greeting with strong religious undertones. However, the etymology of the word is not as important as its contemporary usage. Today the word "holiday" has virtually no vestiges of its original meaning left. Instead it has become a term used to refer to any and all holidays. President's Day is a "holiday;" Independence Day is a "holiday;" and in my Australian friends refer to their vacations as "being on holiday."

Now Christmas is a holiday but for the Christian it is that and so very much more. It is a holiday that has its roots in the birth of Jesus Christ. Indeed the whole holiday exists because Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Now some might claim that the Christmas holiday season is fraught with elements that have nothing to do with Christ's birth and I would have to agree. Somewhere along the way at various points of history some "pagan" celebrations were baptized and incorporated in the Christmas tradition as we celebrate it today. This includes things such as Christmas trees, yule logs etc. Even more elements (many fictional) were added in the 1800's and early 19thy century.

I am also aware that the Christmas season has become a major part of our economic landscape. Many businesses owe there finical health and some even their survival to the days leading up to and including Christmas. Hence there is an enormous economic element tied to the celebration of Christ's birth in our economy.

I have no major quarrel with any of these but in my mind all of those are irrelevant because they are nothing more than nice addendum to the principle reason for the Christmas season and that is the birth of Jesus. You can strip all of these away an still have Christmas. If you remove the Christian core from the holiday season all you have left is a meaningless commercial event. However, when all these addendum are stripped away the one thing left to be celebrated is the birth of Christ.

It is important to me that the core purpose of the Christmas season and that the word "Christmas" it's self doesn't, as the word holiday has, loose its meaning. Merry Christmas reminds us that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Christ, the son of the Living God and Savior of man. No other seasonal greeting communicates the core meaning of the holiday season.

So with that I say, Merry Christmas to all.

Thoughts at Thanksgiving

My signature verse for more years than I care to remember is Philippians 1:3-4, "I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy." The reason I chose this verse as my signature verse is drawn from the belief that every person who has touched my life has helped shape me into the person that I am. They have all become a part of, as Edith Schaffer said in her biography of her husband, the Tapestry of my life.

I am truly thankful for every person who has come into my life. Naturally this includes the parents who gave me life and nurtured me through childhood. Many, if not all, of my core belief came from watching and listening to them as they lived their lives before me. Virtues, like loyalty, keeping confidences, bull dog tenacity and forgiveness, were learned from them. I learned that failing and making mistakes did not make me a failure if I learned from them. Today I am thankful for the parents to which God gave me. I rise up an praise them.

I am thankful for my wife. She has been my friend and lover since the days of our youth. She has stood by me even when I made mistakes and bone-headed decisions. During the early years of ministry she was without question a helpmate par excel lance and is a comfort in my old age. I cannot even imagine my life without her in it. "many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

I am thankful for the children that God brought into our home. Each one has brought joy to my heart and have made me proud as they have grown to adulthood. I am also grateful for the brood of grandchildren that they have presented me. It many ways "my quiver is full" and I am blessed.

For friends both old and new. You have brought joy and heartache but through it all you have helped me become a better person. I am especially thankful for those who have loved and cared for me through bad times. You will never know how much you have helped when I, like Humpty Dumpty, fell and broke into what seemed a million pieces. You enabled me to pick up the pieces, put it back together and go forward. You have shown me the love of God and I thank you for being my friend.

I am even thankful for the enemies I have had along the way. To be sure you are a small group and I wished that you did not exist at all. However, along the way I have found a few who befriended my only to do me harm - who took delight in my falling - who offered no uplifting word or hand. I am thankful for you because you too have helped shape my life. I've learned to have a tough hide and a tender heart.

But most of all I am thankful for a God who is both personal, faithful and involved; A God who loves me and redeemed me; A God who orders my steps and feels my infirmities; A God who picks me up when I fall; and a God who will one day welcome me into His eternal presence.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High: To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night" - Psm 92:1-2

Let us give thanks for we are truly blessed

TSA's Dog and Pony Show

I recently read an article by recently retired airline pilot Robert Herbst entitled TSA's Dog and Pony Show. (To read his article go to http://www.travelpulse.com/) In the article he clearly defends the need for airport security but says what we have in TSA is nothing short of a poorly managed and out of control government jobs program which is costing billions of dollars in tax payer money and at the same time giving TSA employees the power/right to grope your body and harass anyone they choose without legitimate reasons or repercussions for doing so. I might add that failure to comply can result in serious complications for the person being subjected to these invasions of person.

In response to these charges top TSA officials simply reply (1) that rules and regulations (not law) allow them to do body searches no matter how invasive they are and that (2) only a small portion of the flying population will be subject to these searches.

So much for the "land of the free and the home of the brave." Little by little we are being moved by our fear. One thing FDR got right was that the "only thing we have to fear is fear itself." As we give way to our fears we find ourselves sacrificing not only our freedom but also our Constitutional rights.

I just finished listening to John Pistole, head of TSA and Janet Nepolitano, head of Homeland Security and Pistole's boss essentially say that safety must always comes before privacy, freedom and rights (I assume both human and constitutional rights). I also heard the Secretary of State say she would avoid such searches. My guess is she like the two other officials and all Senators and Congressmen are exempt from such searches. So she probably has little to worry about in this regard.

This is not just an issue of inconvenience or privacy. It goes to the core of our American heritage. It is not just striping our clothing from us but the very things that make us unique people in the world.

Where would we be today if our founding father's had caved in to their fears of the British hangman's noose and failed to form this more perfect union we call the United States of America or our forefathers and fathers had refused to defend our constitution (Nation) against aggression because they were afraid? We simply cannot allow government to use our fear of terrorist to rob us of our rights.

And as for the argument that only a few people will have to go through these searches I can only quote Jesus when he said, When you have done it unto one of these the least of my brethren you have done it unto me." And we need to remember the famous warning of Martin Niemoller, "When the Nazi's came for the communist I remained silent for I was not a communist; when they locked up the Social Democrats I kept silent, I was not a social democrat; When they came for the trade unionists I did not speak out, I was not a trade unionist; When they came for the Jews I remained silent, I was not a Jew; When they came for me there was no one left to speak out.

I want as safe a flying environment as can be had. At the same time I want that safety to come as the result of effective and sane procedures and not the "Dog and Pony Show" with which we must now contend. The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance. We must watch our enemies closely but we must also keep a mindful eye on well intentioned friends lest we cease to be "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

What are your thoughts?

Fun Was Had By All

Well, the much anticipated 45th Reunion of the Pasadena High School Class of 1965 has come and gone. The consensous seems to be that it was the best ever. I cannot vouch for that since the only other one I attended was the 25th. What I do know is that it was the best one I have attended and it far exceeded my expectations even though I am not really sure what I expected.

For starters, the venue was absolutely perfect. I did not work with the arrangements but I did benefit from the work of those who did. The Hospitality room was great though it could have been larger; the main event room was more than adaquate; and, by the time the folks in charge of decorations were finished I thought we could just push back the tables and have a "sock-hop." The food was really good and in plenty of supply. If someone left hungry it certainly was because of the lack of good food.

But as much as I liked the venue, the decorations and the food, those where not the things that caused me to come away from the experience wishing it would last a little longer. It was something that for lack of a better word was "spiritual." After 45 years of living our separate lives this group of classmates from 1965 came together and it was almost as if we had never been apart.

I have spent the better part of my life observing people. I have often said that I as I sat in the Mall I saw love born and watched love die. On this night I had a grand time watching and participating in what appeared to me to be a miracle as my high school classmates interacted with one another. It was a sight to behold.

What was it that welled up within us and brought tears as we looked into the faces of classmates no longer among us? For me it was the sense that in their passing something of myself had been lost. What caused a sense of pride in us as Wilson had our classmates who had served in our Armerd Forces introduce themselves? When I heard those introductions I thought about how the Vietnam war had affected our class and I wondered about the lives not lived by classmates who died in Vietnam. But none of this was what made this gathering significant to me.

As I spoke with classmates and listened to conversation of others I became very much aware of the variety of paths we had traveled since we graduated from high school in May of 1965. The life experiences were as varied as the people present. Yet the relationships born in those early days have not been diminished by the separation caused by time and space. It seems we just picked up where we had left off. It was, as I said above, almost as if we had never been apart.

I still cannot define it but somehow I am drawn to these people. People I really do not know that well (maybe that's part of it) and who we see infrequently if at all between reunions just seem to be a major part of who I am.

Two books have been major contributors to my life. One, the Bible and the other The Tapestry: The Life and Times of Francis Schaefer by Edith Schaefer. The former is my guide for spiritual development and living life. The latter brought home to me the concept that our lives are the product of all the people who have touched our lives. Each a weaving in the tapestry of our life. For reasons I don't fully understand the Pasadena High School's Class of 1965 is apparently a weaving so vital that it is attached to my core person and I am the better because of it.

I am already pumped for the 50th . . . besides, most of us will still be under 70 even if it is a matter of a few months.

Just read where the mass market (or as they like to say, Contemporary) cruise line is testing add on charges for steaks and lobster in the main dining rooms. The only reason this is news is because cruise lines have generally promoted themselves as "almost" all inclusive. Virtually every sales meeting I have attended with the cruise lines I was given a chart that showed why a cruise was a better buy than a land vacation. These list always stated that the cruise was a better buy because the price of the cruise included food, transportation, entertainment and lodging.

To be sure alcohol, soft drinks, shore excursions, specialty restaurants cabanas were all charged for but the basic cruise (food, transportation, lodging and entertainment) were all included in the cruise fare. In fact one of the jokes in the industry was that passengers when they get home have sticker shock because the restaurants actually had prices in the menus.

Being the suspicious soul that I am I have a notion that maybe, just maybe the cruise line "bean counters" have seen how the airline industry has benefited from their new "fee" structure and now think it is a good idea for the cruise industry. The day may not be far off before they start charging you for your coffee on the Lido deck, your chairs on the balcony, the robe in your closet, life jacket in your room, etc.

What I really see is that Carnival may be trying to redefine what constitutes a basic cruise. If and when cruises becomes a la carte I will be recommending resort vacations instead of cruises.

Right now -- Today -- cruising at all levels is the best buy for your vacation dollar but when it takes on the business model of the airlines I'll be recommending taking an uncomfortable flight to an exotic destination where the resort industry will give you the one thing a cruise cannot and that's an in depth visit to a destination.

Sure hope I am wrong . . . . What do you think?

Tell Me it Is So!

Southwest Airlines pending government approval has purchased AirTran. If and when this deal goes through it will eventually led to new options for flights to the Caribbean. AirTran presently has routes to Aruba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Montego Bay, Jamaica; (yea), San Juan, P.R.; Cozumel and Cancun, MX; and Nassau, Bahamas. Presumably Southwest will continue those routes as a part of it's commitment to "near" international service. It is also expected that flights to these destinations will add Houston Hobby and Dallas Love Fields to its airports from which these destinations can now be reached either directly or through connecting flights from Atlanta, Orlando and Baltimore.

But not only is it good news because of route access, it is good news because it is an established fact of the industry that when Southwest goes head-to-head with legacy airlines such as American, Continental and Delta airfare go down across the board.

Oh yea, another great thing about the merger is that Southwest has already committed to keeping its "Bags Fly Free" policy and is extending it to all the routes obtained in the AirTran system. They will also be converting all former AirTran flights to "open seating." Existing Boing 717's in the AirTran fleet will be converted to facilitate the open seating concept.

From where I see things this may be one of the happier announcements from any airline. You can be sure that given a choice this cowboy will be flying Southwest Airlines! Way to go Southwest!