Christmas is the season for spreading good cheer; for sharing, caring and giving; for spending time with your family. Any opportunity for compassion and family bonding is a good one, and Christmas provides just that.
The long trip from southern California to the outer reaches of the Puget Sound that my sister and brother-in-law made over the summer has been repeated by my father and his wife. For that we are truly thankful.
Despite our individuality and uniqueness, we come together as a group easier than a ten piece puzzle. Being together as one shapes our individual characters, values and beliefs. Family stands at the foundation of the entire social and political order.
Human beings are designed to be united. Dogs have packs, chickens have flocks, we have family.
The Noble Experiment. The Volstead Act. The Eighteenth Amendment. Call it what you will, the amendment that would become the National Prohibition Act was passed by the House of Representatives on December 18, 1917. On December 5, 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified and repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment has been repealed.
What happened in between? Innocent people suffered, organized crime grew into an empire; police and politicians became increasingly corrupt and disrespect for the law grew; and the per capita consumption of alcohol increased dramatically, year by year, while Prohibition was in place.
Prohibition ba
nned only the manufacturing, sale, and transport of alcohol - but not possession or consumption. If you bought or made liquor prior to the passage of the 18th Amendment you were able to continue to serve it throughout the prohibition period legally. Alcoholic drinks were still widely available at "speakeasies" and other underground drinking establishments. Large quantities of alcohol were smuggled in from Canada. Ships outside the three mile limit were exempt. Limited amounts of wine and hard cider were permitted to be made at home. Some commercial wine was still produced in the U.S., but was only available through government warehouses for use in "religious" ceremonies. "Malt and hop" stores popped up across the country and some former breweries turned to selling malt extract syrup, ostensibly for baking and "beverage" purposes. Whiskey could be obtained by prescription from medical doctors.
The Noble Experiment was deemed a failure by many. Experiments are the way to test the scientific method. An observation is made, a question is asked or a problem arises, a hypothesis formed, experimentation used to test that hypothesis. Results are analyzed, a conclusion is drawn, perhaps a theory is formed, and results are communicated. Prohibition may not have worked, but without trying the answer would still be unknown.
Experiments follow the laws of logic; truth is sought for its own sake. Experiments find out what works and what doesn't, stretch mankind's knowledge, allow all of us learn from the past so we are not doomed to repeat it. Try something new today; experiment and find truth for it's own sake.
Mortality is, as best, tenuous; our visit on this earth is brief. Each of us is reminded of this in different ways. Whether it is a well-known person or a loved one, the anniversary of their death is a personal aide memoire. It takes us down paths less traveled, navigating memories of time and place, happy times and moments that are bittersweet because their absence is underscored.
In Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom describes the living funeral for Professor Morrie Schwartz, dying of Lou Gehrig's Disease. "Some cried. Some laughed...Morrie cried and laughed with them. And all the heartfelt things we never get to say to those we love, Morrie said that day."
Age has taught me many things. One is not to wait; having a one-sided conversation with a memory is not all it's cracked up to be. There is no give and take, no exchange of ideas, no response, only your words.
Seize the day. Never save something for a special occasion. Take the time to smell the roses, stare at the night sky, listen to the sound of your breathing. Say what you need to say.
Decorating the house with Christmas lights was my idea. It started with a string of lights on the patio of our first home together, the only area of the condominium that could easily be decorated. Next was our first house, which meant roof lines and window frames. Eventually the trees we planted would grow enough to support decorating, carrying lights farther up into the night. Dedicated circuit breakers were installed in the electrical panel, outlets were installed in various locations around the property and the number of lights continued to grow, covering rose bushes, shrubs, a travel trailer and my grandfather's truck.
Each house brought new designs, different patterns, more outlets to install. For the better part of 20 years I had lit up the darkness with Christmas lights. It became a tradition to Laura, our daughter. It was expected we would light the house and practically anything else that didn't move. She held the ladder while I reached to the top of the tree or the peak of the roof above the garage.
This time of year is associated with light; the lack of it as well as the way we respond to it with candles, sparklers and strings of bulbs. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, uses a menorah to illuminate to night. Christians use an advent wreath; the lighted candles originally designed to signify the persistence of life in the midst of winter, the accumulation of light is now an expression of the growing anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ, who we Christians see as the light of the world. The all-night bonfire for the burning of the Yule log is a tradition with roots in Northern European pre-Christian times.
Last year was not the best of years. Losing my job, being forced to sell our house in a market not kind to sellers, moving to another state and starting over again was not in the plan. By the time December rolled around I had decided it was time to give up decorating the house and let the darkness win another round.
Laura had other ideas. She and her boyfriend Bryan searched a jam-packed garage, found the lights and decorated the house. This home came with a dedicated plug for outdoor lights, so they were able to complete the task without any assistance from me. The lights looked great, especially accompanied by the other houses on our street.
Lights in winter are reminders of the inner light, hope for the return of sunnier and warmer days. Thank you, Laura and Bryan, for that reminder. I am a better person for it.
Ohh Christmas Lights
Light up the streets
Light up the fireworks in me
May all your troubles soon be gone
Those Christmas Lights keep shining on
