Tis Christmas Eve

It’s Christmas Eve and I am tired, the past week has been non-stop chaos. I love my new job but I am reminded of why I stopped doing direct service work, the agency I work at is small so even though I am the director, titles and position mean jack when work needs to be done.

The population I work with is poor folks, and in this current economic climate when many of us are feeling rather broke, a job like mine helps me to keep a healthy perspective. After all I was able to go purchase my Christmas dinner and gifts, I did not have to call a million agencies to get help. I have a roof over my head, my basic needs are met. Its a shame that one of the folks who saw swindled by ole Bernie Madoff, didn’t have my perspective.

See, I awoke to the sounds of NPR reporting that some cat who Bernie took for 1.5 billion dollars had committed suicide. To be honest that story pissed me off as I was getting up early to go into work today because I had a few families that needed some holiday help so even though it was technically my off day, the alternative of enjoying Christmas Eve knowing I had folks in need was not an option.

Yet to hear about some man so distraught over losing a billion dollars that he would take his own life seems strange, after all I am sure the dead man wasn’t broke…cat lived in Westchester County so I suspect even after the ride Bernie gave him he still had a few pesos. Perhaps this man should have visited a food pantry or homeless shelter to gain a better perspective on the situation. Seeing folks with no food and no roof over their heads has a funny way of making your personal shit look pretty good provided you have the basics.

Anyway rant over, to my Christian brothers and sisters I wish you a Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. To my brothers and sisters of other faith traditions, I wish you a Happy Holiday.

Perhaps in this tough times, we can start to refocus on what’s really important.

4 thoughts on “Tis Christmas Eve”

  1. OG, thanks for explaining the situation. I must admit I was probably half sleep when I was listening so I probably glossed over those facts.

  2. The story had the direct opposite affect on me. I heard that most of the money he had lost belong to others. And maybe he felt personally responsible for having put some people in those lines for hand outs or back to square one at a very late stage in life. I really do not think it was because of the money he lost personally, but because he felt he personally fell short by not recognizing the ponzi scheme in the first place.

    It saddens me that he would think he was any way responsible for swindling so many out of there hard earn money. However it makes me even sadder to think that maybe the suicide was because he may have known about the scheme. With him investing his own money I think that highly unlikely.

    But you are right perspective is always good during these times. It has a way of making those who are struggling feel less than, when it really should be making those of us who aren’t excited to be generous because we do realize how blessed we are.

    Have a good one!

    -OG

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