'Tis the Season(ing)

     Blink and you'll miss it.  Okay, you really can't miss it because advertisers began marketing the "holidays" before Holiween (may as well just blend it all together). From a capitalistic viewpoint, you bought the candy to appease the kids and now begins your turn.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and Super Bowl!  Wait, did I leave something out?  Like Thanksgiving (which generates little money for retailers, unless you're an airline or a gas station) or Giving Tuesday, a very charitable idea carefully placed after you've spent your cash on things you probably didn't really need.  Here's an idea: have Giving Tuesday come on Thanksgiving week, a time when people are feeling full of gratitude and thinking of others.  Heaven forbid...that would leave less to spend come Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the grandaddy of them all, Christmas.  Ho, ho, whoa...how dare I try to dampen the holiday spirit?  But while Jimmy Kimmel's drop-off food pantry was a nice show during the government shutdown (another shutdown may be coming in January when the funding again runs out) , wouldn't it be nice if a few of those "stars" and "celebrities" would have joined a list of million dollar donors...or better yet, $5 million donors.  When you make $25 million doing a single TV stand-up (as Netflix reportedly paid Dave Chappelle and Ellen Degeneres), or $80 million for a series of stand-ups (Eddie Murphy, recently documented in his $85 million Beverly Hills mansion), or even Jimmy Kimmel ($15 million annually plus $8 million in bonuses, and I enjoy Jimmy Kimmel), or Adam Sandler ($67 million guaranteed for acting in a movie), popping $5 million into the bucket to help those struggling would seemingly make more of an impact than simply appearing on an ad or setting up a back-studio food drop off.  20 celebrities giving that much one-time = $100 million.  40 Hollywood stars donating = $200 million.  As one commentator noted, what if politicians did the same with their campaign money (which most get to keep even if they lose).

     Wait.  Let me jump off my high horse and admit that I have no place judging what people do with their money, whatever their income.  Especially now.  Or ever.  Hey, when captains of commercial airlines can make over $450 an hour (double that with overtime), then who am I to say how they should spend their earnings.  We have income inequality in this world and probably always have.  But the truth is, judge ye not because a person could look at any of us and ask why we aren't giving more, or helping more, or volunteering more?  And as far as any of us may or may not know, many of those people may already be among the most generous people on the planet (but an $85 million mansion?).  I callously brought this up at this time of year to rattle a few cages because despite both Black Friday and Buy Now, Pay Later credit recorded their highest usage ever this year, people also stepped up when it came to Giving Tuesday.  I saw funding goals for organizations meet or exceed their goals: saving redwoods, helping rhinos, non-profit food banks,  distributing medical aid in war-torn countries, no-kill shelters.  Even CAWS, my local all-volunteer animal rescue group (the longest running one in the Salt Lake County area) nearly tripled what they sought.  And some individuals donated several thousands of their own to provide "matching funds."  Bravo!  So despite the news being broadcast about those "kill them all" missile strikes, and despite the misleading updates on how "great" the economy is doing, and despite the "excellent" health insurance plan soon to come and now in its 10th year of "planning" (while your premiums could possibly double or triple come the new year), and despite all those healthy views of our unvaccinated lives, people were still stepping up to the plate to help others.  And wasn't that the true spirit of this holiday season, no matter if your celebrating Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, or any of the 27 other winter holiday traditions (quick, name two not already listed)...

     And if you happened tto glance at the T-Mobile welcome home video in the last post, you may have discovered that such unexpected "flash mob" scenarios are many, or at least were in that period nearly 15 years ago.  Such "mobs" are far different than those who attacked the Capitol on January 6th (all were pardoned by Trump, even those who seriously injured Capitol police trying to protect Congress folk in session).  Flash mobs are so called because they appear from the most unexpected places, even surprising talent shows such as that of Simon Cowell hosting Britain's Got Talent (even you may be surprised by this one).  Imagine the planning involved, the timing and the placing of cameras, the do-we/don't-we get the crowd involved, the probable permits needed, the scouting out of places to seat or to blend in so that it appears natural (one example is the finale of the early T-Mobile flash mob in Liverpool train station, who end their dance routine and disperse even more quickly than they appeared).  Yes, there are many such flash mob videos out there (athough they seemed to have all stopped after 9/11) but I enjoyed the following one in particular, perhaps because it captured the wonder and joy and excitement of the ordinary, and all in the uplifting and renewing spirit on the holidays.

                           

 

     So this post is rather short and sweet, meant to be a change from the usual and to provide each of you readers a wish for letting the hype and advertising (and politics) fall by the wayside for a bit, to forget your troubles come on get happy, even in only for a few moments.  Start baking something, a casserole or a savory stew, or season a nice bowl of homemade soup, or heat a loaf of pumpkin bread.  Start calling friends and family early, skip an episode on TV and pet your dog/s and cat/s instead, open a book you've been meaning to read for the past few months, listen to an old song, look at a few photographs, and think about your life.  The bottom line, regardless of your state in life --super-rich or super-poor, healthy or feeling trapped in a hospital, being in a warm house ready for company or standing out in the streets, safely tucked under warm covers or freezing cold such as those now in Gaza's and Ukraine's winters-- become aware.  John Lennon once wrote about the Salvation Army children's home he would see as a child, saying: Living is easy with eyes closed.  Misunderstanding all you see.  It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out. (Lennon was assassinated 45 years ago this month).  Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh wrote of a monk asking his students, "what is a lifetime?"  Some answered 100 years, some answered 20 years, or a day.  But then one student said, a single breath, to which the monk replied, "that is correct."  

Image: Irregulariteez

     Most of us are quite fortunate, and we need to acknowledge that.  Others need help and many of us give to provide that help.  But we could do even more, and do something even simpler, and that is (as my wife continues to say and do), just be kind every day.  For some reason, we are now living in a world off-balance, a world which appears to be harboring toxic emotions, a world seemingly heading to a precarious position, at least as far are we humans are concerned.  But our world is unique in its own right.  This planetary home of ours rotates at over 1000 miles per hour, perfect for keeping things stable.  But if we were the nearby (and much larger) Saturn, we'd be rotating at over 22,000 mph, far too quick a spin to support life as we know it.  And as Neil DeGrasse Tyson wrote in his book, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry (isn't that all of us, today), our planet is surprisingly flat.  Difficult as it may seem, from space our planet has very few "bumps."  Our mountains, limited by gravity, are considered small when viewed from afar, the depths of our ocean the same (just peek out that airplane window and see how those tall buildings and such just sort of vanish (he also noted that the Great Wall of China is not visible from space since it is not even as wide as a typical highway).  If you took a gigantic space finger and rubbed it across the surface of our planet, he added, it would feel as smooth as a cue ball on a pool table.  As for us humans?  We'd likely never be seen or felt, unless aliens had some sort of means of detection we've yet to develop.  Our planet is but a speck when viewed from the edge of our rather small solar system.  And in today's world we may tend to view ourselves in the same way -- all the same, all but invisible.  But we are visible if we take the time to look, even it that :looking" means looking at our own selves.  Take the words from that galaxy poster viewing us from afar, you are here.  You, yes you.  And you ARE.  And yes, you are here, right now, right at this moment, laughing or hurting, among friends or alone, watching the stars or watching the tellie.  You are here, still here.  Just being aware of that is a gift to celebrate.  Happy Holidays to all...

P.S. Since you may be wondering where the "seasoning" part of this post comes in, I am adding the famed history of the Senate Bean Soup, straight from Capitol Hill...lots of bean soup recipes out there but this one has been served in The Senate for over 100 years (which may explain why more than bills are passed in Congress): Bean soup has been a required and beloved menu tradition in Senate restaurants for more than a century.  There are competing stories about the origin of the mandate that bean soup be served daily.  According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, who as chair of the committee overseeing the Senate Restaurant, passed a resolution in the committee requiring that bean soup be on the menu daily.  Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903 and insisted that it be on the menu each day.  The recipe attributed to Dubois includes mashed potatoes and makes a 5-gallon batch.  The recipe served in the Senate today does not include mashed potatoes but does include a braised onion. 

The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup Recipe:

2 pounds dried navy beans

4 quarts hot water

1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened.  Place beans into pot with hot water.  Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally.  Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool.  Dice meat and return to soup.  Lightly brown the onion in butter.  Add to soup.  Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper.  Serves 8.

For those who don't eat meat but want that "something,"  other non-meat "ham" flavorings are available (we tend to use that by Badia, but there are many others).