Odds And Ends From The Heartland

Have you seen the price of meat lately? We generally shop for meat twice a year; we buy the big family packs, and repackage them for our freezer. Monday we went to our favorite meat department and left with almost nothing...we paid $4.20/lb for 80/20 ground beef, and almost that much for pork cube steaks. The quality of the meat selections was poor, and the sticker price was outrageous to the point that we simply didn't buy much. Being the people-watcher that I am, I observed other shoppers slowly walking up and down the meat counters, staring, and shaking their heads, their baskets empty or nearly empty. I worry for young families; prices are soaring, work is scarce, and paychecks are stagnant. Even a bar of soap costs more, and toilet paper is so precious that I've wondered if Charmin is felling agarwood for their paper mills.

I see that Tim Tebow, the unrepentant Christian quarterback of the Denver Broncos, is still winning games by the skin of his teeth. It tickles me to see him take a knee on the sideline, because it throws the atheists and Muslim appeasers into a frothy meltdown. The oh-so-politically-correct staff at ESPN have been shrieking like banshees on crack, and the louder they squall, the firmer my stance is in support of Tebow. Christianity has taken quite a brutal bashing in the last few decades, and I'd like to see more Christians express their faith with the courage displayed by Mr. Tebow.

Noah and I were chatting with a retired couple last week. They shared with us that they have pulled all of their retirement monies from the stock market, and will invest in land. They said their tax hit was horrendous, but they're weary of worrying if/when the system will implode. They said they were happy with their decision and now have peace of mind. I found it incredibly sad...and chilling.

The rise of that old scalawag Newt Gingrich in the polls doesn't surprise me. Is he REALLY a conservative? Probably not. Is he a *spit* progressive? I guess that depends on how "progressive" is defined, and whether a person is analyzing Newt's recent positions or his past positions. I think I know why so many TPers are cheering him on anyway...it's not his politics as much as it is the certainty that he could kick Obama's ass in a debate. We may pay dearly for our fervent desire to see such an event. Time will tell.

Our family has scaled back the commercial aspect of Christmas this year. For the first time, we are drawing names for gifts, with a $10 limit if the gift is store-bought rather than handmade (children excluded from the $ limit). For the children, the adults are buying one gift per child, per couple. Instead of the insane glut of material "stuff", we are concentrating on things like baking and singing songs around the tree. We'll have our traditional Christmas Eve feast, and share stories of Christmas past. In a crazy world, we are attempting to instill a bit of sanity and peace.

Whether you are celebrating the Birth of the Christ Child, the Festival of Lights, or both...Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah my friends!