Eyes full of Tinsle and Fire

I had something to write about earlier in the week, but it's been resolved by people far better at that sort of thing than me...but the issue was at the heart of much of my heart... If you wonder enough, you can read through posts here and figure it all out: http://morethanservingtea.wordpress.com/

I love being on InterVarsity Staff....

I am a big seasonal candy fan. If you've known me during a December, you've probably heard me talk about my love for peppermint flavoring...you might even remember my adventures with peppermint whipped cream from Sophomore year.... I even once spoke at our large group about candy canes...But it doesn't end there...not at all! I'm also a big fan of candy corn...but I've heard a lot of people speak, quite disparagingly, about the stuff recently. It puzzles me as to why...but I guess all things can't be for all people, and that probably exhibits itself most often when it comes to food.

While we're on seasonal matters, I should mention that I've been thinking about Christmas and Thanksgiving a lot recently. Personally, they are the countdown days to my move to Hillsdale...and I can't wait for that. But even more, and probably on the national scale, I think we just need Christmas, as a country right now. More than ever before, I've heard comments (both passive and utterly lamenting) about the earliness of Christmas advertisement and products from stores this year. I'm somewhat in the middle on that; I never tire of Christmas, but I don't want to see that happen either. I know why it's all happening though, and the answer is simple; Christmas is giving the economy hope. That's not rocket science....it happens every year to an extent, but it's especially happening this year, wherein we've been in an economic struggle that killed Christmas or at least harmed it, from an economic standpoint, on all sorts of levels. Companies are trying to prevent that, and hoping to get it going as early as possible and, therefore, keep it going as long as possible. Unfortunately, I don't think it will actually work. Much like the Cotton Gin and the Civil War happening at the same time (and independence movements in Africa along with the dwindling colonialism's favorable economic model), the economy is steadily improving to the point that Christmas is going to do better, economically, than it did last year. That's going to give companies reason to believe that extending the season works....even if it doesn't. Christmas might be starting earlier than ever this year...but I'm predicting that it's never going to get later again...thanks to happenstance, not effort.

But I do love Christmas...quite a bit. It offers hope beyond the economic sense, of course...and even if it's mostly a veneer in some cases, people at least feel like they should love others more...maybe, with enough of that, they actually will. And I love Christmas T.V. specials of all sorts... they're all the same plot, but I don't care...there's just something about them... And I love christmas music. And I love Thanksgiving and New Years...probably more, as days, than Christmas itself...I consider them the bookends of the season though... And Egg Nog, and Ham....it's just a great season with great things. Presents are okay, but I love the life that is the Christmas season more than presents, definitely. I also love Midnight services on Christmas eve....the list goes on and on and on...and it all starts, modestly enough, with 47 cent boxes of candy corn from Wal Mart, thanks to the markdown from Halloween's departure. I'm not a huge halloween fan for a lot of reasons, but I love when it's over because the cheap candy means great things are coming (and I love candy corn...which shouldn't even get marked down...it should be a staple on ever coffee table at every Grandma's house for every Thanksgiving meal). I love Caroling too, which I'm going to miss immensely this year...even if I get to do it, it won't be in Wooster. Wooster is an amazing place for those couple of weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter breaks. Sure, finals is in there...but so are Lowry Christmas cookies and 25 Christmas parties the night following the last day of classes. If you're still in Wooster and reading this, put whipped cream on a lowry Christmas cookie..it's heavenly....especially if it's shaped like an angel.

But, until all of that comes...I've got to stick to the money-raising..well, even during all of that.

And I know God will sustain me.

In case you were wondering, I did not vote, nor am I altogether pleased, that the gambling issue passed in Ohio. I'm a pretty libertarian guy, but I'm not a fan of voter-condoned gambling and all that goes with the construction of casinos, especially in Cleveland....if you've got to build a casino, build it where the wealthy live, not the poor....at least it won't look so much like the exploitation that it is, if it's in Olmstead Falls.

Maybe it's foolish, to long for a perfect world...but maybe it's foolish to long for anything less.

-Zack

"They said I'm foolish
Fleeting hopes in borrowed dreams,
They said forget her,
The moon is far beyond your reach"
-Brave Saint Saturn