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Three thoughts
By Cam Tait
October 30, 2006
There's a paragraph we ran last week in this space that keeps echoing louder and louder in my brain. So loud, in fact, that I've decided to repeat it again this week. Frankly, it deserves it. And with ghosts and goblins making their annual trek this week, the point might have an exclamation mark on it. It was a comment about Halloween and Christmas, and how everyone might be able to afford Halloween a lot more than Christmas. (Don't snicker. Christmas decorations will be going up sooner than we think.)
Comparing Christmas and Halloween might seem a little over the top and somewhat ludicrous. But please forgive me; I simply ask that you give me a few more hundred words so I can make my point. Halloween, like Christmas, is in many ways for kids. Both holidays have wonderful expectations in the days before the event. At Halloween, we look forward to what we will wear to spook and surprise our friends and family. At Christmas, we have great expectations of what will be under the tree; and, conversely, the wonderful anticipation of giving someone we love a gift. And we can't discredit any of that.
But as families grow, there are more demands for time. Especially at Christmas. We try to be ten places at once, often short-changing close family members with our time. At Christmas we feel obligated to see lots of folks in a short span of time. And Christmas is also very stressful in many other ways.
Halloween isn't. Halloween is fun. Kids and parents alike really don't have the pressures, especially financially, at the end of October like they do in the month of December. Halloween is a few hours of fun hanging out with people close to us. Now, I can hear the critics saying that we can't compare Christmas to Halloween. That wouldn't be fair.
But there is one common dominator...sharing time together. And perhaps we can enjoy each other even more at certain times of the year when we swap the stress for some fun.
We've heard a few stories from various parts of Canada that there are challenges finding enough people to volunteer to sell poppies for Remembrance Day. I'm very sad to hear that. And I stress the importance of creating a public awareness campaign to honour the memory and legacies of the men and women of both World Wars. It is, indeed, sad that we have to be reminded. We must never, ever forget.
Parting shot: Good for Michael J. Fox. The Canadian actor is taking his message about stem cell research into American political campaigns. Fox, who has Parkinson's Disease, doesn't care if his speech is slurred and his muscles twitch on a national stage. People who publicly question his efforts - even suggesting that Fox is merely using his acting talents - certainly have a different way of thinking than me. Mr. Fox, you have my respect. Cam Tait is a sports reporter for the Edmonton Journal. He covered charitable issues for almost 20 years. Thoughts, comments, ideas or a simple hello are welcomed at cam@charityvillage.com.
Opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CharityVillage.com®.
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