Be Santa's helper for good children in bad circumstances

A few years ago, a wise friend who works with children in fragile family circumstances told me we should never tell children that Santa brings presents to children who've been good. There are so many good and wonderful children who, through no fault of their own, won't see the things on their list from Santa under the tree on Christmas morning. So I've taken "have you been good this year?" out of my vocabulary unless it's to children I'm intending to surprise with a Santa gift.

• • •

To anyone who regularly finds themselves rushing around a day or so before Christmas, bemoaning the fact that the holiday snuck up on them, consider this your memo. You have 23 days, 552 hours and 33,120 minutes until Christmas Day.

• • •

It’s just not Christmas without multiple viewings of "It’s a Wonderful Life." I’ve watched it since I was a little girl and never fail to be brought to tears by Harry Bailey’s toast, “to my big brother, George, the richest man in town!” So many wonderful messages and quotes in the movie ... “What is it you want, Mary? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down." “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” “No man is a failure who has friends.”

Trivia: There’s a sign on the wall of George Bailey’s office at the Building and Loan that reads, “All that you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.”

‘Tis the season.

• • •

Email Palooza is how I can best describe the state of my two email address inboxes on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. It became like a game of delete Wack-a-Mole to try to keep the sales/marketing emails from taking over. I quit counting the number I was deleting at 800!

The bulk of these emails weren’t from unknown random businesses but from companies I’d actually done business with this past year. There wasn’t just a single email informing of a sale or special, but multiple each day. Add to that the incredible local nonprofits that are doing end-of-year fundraising with tax deductions, and you have the perfect email storm.

Thankfully, there were far fewer text message sales pitches.

I got to thinking how few of these emails I actually opened, and more importantly how many I actually responded to by visiting the store or website to take advantage of the offers included. The answer is none. Zero, zip, nada.

It seems, for me at least, that I respond to print advertisements more consistently than to electronic ads. If an ad appears in my newspaper or even in my physical USPS mailbox or during a TV show, I don’t view it as an intrusion. But the proliferation of email appeals has soured me on buying from those businesses.

I’m willing to admit that this might be generational. So if you have a different reaction to email solicitations, I’d love to hear from you, and yes, I’ll read your email!

• • •

The first day of the 12th month has dawned. In 28 short days, we’ll celebrate the arrival of a new year, but between now and then, there’s much Christmas to be celebrated.

This time of year, we all wish, or pretend, that life is a Hallmark holiday movie. But alas, life is seldom tied so neatly in a pretty happy ending bow. The holidays do bring out the best in people ... generous hearts, helping hands and wishing strangers Merry Christmas. We seem to pause a little longer to watch snow falling or smile at the sight of a child sitting on Santa’s lap. Christmas songs on the radio also bring a smile.

What I wish is that we could and would remember this feeling of good will toward our fellow man and practice kindness in March and June and September, every day of every month.

• • •

Happy Birthday today to Joyce Ekness, Carol Fairhurst, Sandra King, Brittany Teverbaugh, Norbert Vedder and Jennifer Keefe. Tomorrow, Tina McWhorter, Bayley Brooks, Dirk Fredekind, Doug Shevalier and Barry Corigilano open their presents. On Friday, Jennifer McGrath, Sharlene Scott, Marna Bateman and Annette Barstow will sing the birthday song. Kathy McDowell, Melanie Chun, Jocelyn Stott, Jennifer Hawkins and Kylie Allen ring the birthday bell Saturday. Cheryl Fitting, Patricia Marrs, Nathan Smalley, Dean Opsal, Catherine Cronin, Rhonda Newton and Randy Duncan take another trip around the sun Sunday. On Monday, Tammy Schneider, Kelly Ferguson and Becky McIntire Bufeuillet will celebrate. Debbie Findlay, Cecilia Fehling, Brandon Quigley, Cheri Banta, Melissa Williams and Cindy Jarnagin blow out the candles Dec. 9.

• • •

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected].