Generosity at this Time of Year +

I clearly remember being in Milan Italy in the summer of 1964 when I was 13 years old. On a large square there was a gypsy family with a mother and a lot of children begging. I remember thinking: "this will never happen in the U.S." Hah!

Recently in Florida a family friend of my wife's mother told me of how a group of her friends and she all contributed their "Christmas gifts" not to each other, but rather to a family or cause locally that they felt was worthy. She said that they were all retired and had what they needed and wanted already.

A recent year's gift was to a poor local family that her son had told her of. They surprised the mother in the family greatly pleasing her with their gift. This family had pallets rather than beds. The preceding year one of the children stayed out of school to allow them to afford clothes for the other children to wear so they could attend school. They had no money for presents for their children.

I was amazed at the kindness and generosity that was shown by these very nice people! I'm also saddened that we can have such extreme poverty amidst all the wealth we have in the U.S.