18Dec 2011 by CJ

Writing a grown-up letter to Santa

Life & Living, Youth
Dear Santa, I’m not sure if you remember me - it’s been about 30 years since I last addressed a letter to you. I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner but after my sister broke the news to me about your fictitious existence, I didn’t really see the need to waste the postage any longer. Though admittedly, I’ve come to wonder if she was really right at all. My family recently made the trip into New York City to visit the tree at Rockefeller Center, the famous department store windows all adorned with holiday décor and the majestic St. Patrick’s Cathedral. While meandering through the city on a chilly December’s day, a few light snow flurries danced around our heads making it almost impossible not to be in the holiday spirit.…
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14Dec 2011 by CJ

Where are you Christmas – more and more we can’t find you

Life & Living, Youth
As of this writing, there are exactly 18 more days until the conclusion of 2011. It was a year not uncommonly filled with its share of highs and lows and looking back it’s difficult to imagine where the last eleven months have escaped. But as John Lennon once said, “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” But before we welcome in a new calendar year, we have another time-honored holiday to celebrate - Christmas. A subject of continuous debate, and the recurring theme of countless movies, books and television specials, is what is the true meaning of Christmas. While arguments surrounding its true meaning are subjective, it’s hard to decipher a logistical explanation when December 25th is continuously shrouded in dazzling decorations and over-the-top gift giving. It…
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30Nov 2011 by CJ

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is still tops with viewers

Life & Living, Youth
Tuesday night CBS aired the holiday classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which originally aired on Sunday, December 6, 1964 on the NBC television network (see image). Since I can remember, it's always been a favorite of mine around this time of year. Even today at the age of 36, my wife and I still enjoy watching it (we even own it on DVD!). As we were tuning in this year, I began wondering why they'd even play this anymore? I mean in this age of technology where cartoons are created with a computer, would the children of today (and the adults for that matter) really find any entertainment in this archaic art form? Well, I guess I was wrong. According to the ratings, 12.7 million viewers tuned in to the…
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09Aug 2011 by CJ

Parenting is about love and care – it doesn’t matter who you are

Life & Living, Youth
People haven't yet figured out that parenting is about love and care, regardless of race or sexual orientation. Here's an example. The other day, my wife had the great pleasure of appearing at ourlocal courthouse for jury duty. What fun, right? She had a few entertaining stories from her experience, but what troubled me more was the reply of a middle aged man who was responding to thejudge's question, "if you have bumper sticker on your car, what does itsay?" The man politely responded that he worked for a soup kitchen in his church and that the only bumper sticker on his car read, "Gays are not parents". I guess he thought his affiliation with a religious institution allowed him to have such an idiotic comment posted on his bumper.…
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05May 2011 by CJ

The Giving Tree – Something for EVERYONE to learn regardless of age

Information & Education, Life & Living, Youth
At first I was a little confused when my wife gave me a children’s book called "The Giving Tree" to read. Was she trying to tell me something, I thought. Turns out it was a book she first read and fell in love with back in a college literature class. “The Giving Tree,” written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein, was released in 1964 and is still popular today – even though its meaning continues to be the subject of debate. Some readers felt the story was too depressing, supporting codependency and selfish behavior. One blogger even said he’d read the book over 60 times and still wasn’t sure what the author was trying to say. That’s a little extreme for a book of simple line drawings and a sprinkling of…
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