Ringing bells is the only steady work you can depend on over the holidays. I’ve been using self-service aisles, which I dislike on principle because they reduce employment, but the big boxes aren’t staffed.

For years, Steve, I been supporting groups like Heifer, but they concentrate on people outside the US. This year it became obvious that we have a major problem in the US and no one in government wants to do anything it.

People don’t understand the system. I had a great uncle who lost his farm in the Depression because he couldn’t pay the mortgage. The farm was productive but not enough people had money enough to buy what he was producing, so he didn’t have the money to pay the mortgage. He had milk, cream, butter, cheese, grain, vegetables, and berries, but the bank had to have cash, so he lost it all. There are a lot of homeless people who have enough money to pay rent, but they can’t save the money to pay the deposits to move in. If they do manage to move in, they are one trip to a doctor or dentist from eviction, which means even higher deposits the next time. People just don’t understand the system.

Bravo, Bryan!

During GeeDubya’s second term, Stella and I volunteered at the local free Christmas dinner, served in the large hall of the George R. Brown Convention Center, which ironically is also the location of occasional political conventions. They already had a slate of food line staff, and assigned us to the welcome crew, a sort of cheering section urging the large crowds of homeless and otherwise hungry people through the hall to the food line.

Never again! I saw the faces of those hungry people… faded, discouraged, without hope… and they didn’t need cheering, they needed a steady, reliable, day-to-day source of a good meal. The hungry in Houston alone would populate a large town or small city. It just isn’t right.

Since then, Stella and I have given each other token presents, putting the rest of the holiday money into known effective local anti-hunger programs. It still hasn’t made more than a small dent in the problem, and probably won’t until O’Bummer turns his serious attention to seeing people housed, clothed. fed and employed. We have negligible influence there… all we can do is hope, and feed a few people through the Food Bank.

One thing I learned a long time ago; never by the produce at Malwart. It goes bad in about 3 days. I go to a local grocer who charges more for his fruit and vegetables, but they are at least quality enough to last more than 2 days.