About Me: THE COFFEE-GRINDER CHRISTMAS

In my senior year of college, I married my best friend. He was a graduate student on a stipend so we had little money. I had saved $15.00 for his one Christmas present and hoped to find a vintage coffee grinder with which he could grind the fresh roasted coffee beans he preferred.

I had had no luck and now it was Christmas Eve and I was taking one last walk in and out of shops in the antiques district of Baltimore.

I queried each proprietor and they invariably said I’d have to look myself so I went all the way to the back of each shop, tiptoeing to see on top of tall shelves laden with stuff, peering under tables and into dark corners, even peeking into “staff only” areas. No luck.

GUEST BLOG by SGT. SHERRILL on the CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE'S BLOG

In this season when we anticipate the birth of the Prince of Peace, this heartfelt poem by Sgt Sherrill expresses my own hope for the work that is going on in Afghanistan below the drones with the next generation - children so eager to learn and grow in whatever direction they are bent. What kind of education are they getting about the United States? Will the Central Asia Institute, Women for Afghan Women, other NGOs and the Sgt Sherrills of our military presence prevail or will the messages of the Taliban and our drones win the next generation? How will you participate in the outcome?

Behind the Wall
by Sgt. M. Douglas Sherrill, Jr.

I hear the voices behind the wall,...

Bread Crumbs: GRIEVING THE LIVING

Christmas, a season that emphasizes family gatherings, may be especially difficult for those who are grieving the living.

My friend, a spiritually grounded apostate, got a letter from her born-again daughter disowning their relationship and forbidding my friend any contact with her or her family of two beloved teenaged grandchildren and her son-in-law.

Another friend lost her son to drugs and yet another grieves loss of contact with highly successful children who have moved far away, make no effort to stay in touch, and chat only briefly when she calls them.

A couple I’ve known since we started raising our kids together nurtures their two adult sons who are marginally making it because of mental health issues.

I myself grieved the end of a marriage – the triple loss of a parenting partner, a once friendly and intimate relationship, and a social role. As in my first friend’s case, divorcees too may lose beloved family members and friends - people who “don’t want to take sides” or don’t know how to handle a “third wheel” in their social scene.

Politics: CLEVER HALLELUJAH CHORUSES

Every Christmas season Handel rolls over in his grave at the various revised renditions of his magnificent oratorio. The first one should make him grin, the second will make him spin!

From the Children and Townspeople of Quinhagak, Alaska

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=LyviyF-N23A 

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Hallelujah Corporations! An Excellent Rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus--


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0WSNRpy3g

The Kitchen Sink: THE MOST POWERFUL AMERICAN POET

What do you think is the most powerful, most influential poem ever written in this country? Which one has changed our American culture, our economy, our relationships, influences our state of mind and behavior whether we know it, like it, or not, and continues to impact our children's lives more than we may want to acknowledge?

Wordage: FREELY BORN WORDS

Contributions Welcomed and Credited
Unless otherwise attributed, Freely Born Words are created by Abby Freeborn and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you have a different source for any of the words listed below, please comment so proper acknowledgement  can be made.


E-dress or Edress  (e`dress)  - (n) contraction of "e-mail" and "address" designating a piece of internet contact information

‘Druthers (‘Dru`thers) - (n) contraction of “I’d rather” used to designate a preference (e.g., “We could come Tuesday or Wednesday. Let me know your ‘druthers.”)

Commercemas (Com`merce`mas) - (N) name of the modern quasi-religious commercial celebration that begins on November 1st each year in America engulfing the religious holy days of All Saint's Day and Christmas, the secular American holidays of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, and the religious seasons of Hannukah and Advent

The Kitchen Sink: CHRISTMAS 2011 - THE BIRTH OF A NEW TRADITION

As Christmas commercialism bears down upon us, popping up from behind the displays of leftover Hallowe’en candy, this item is making the rounds on email. A friend sent it to me and didn’t know who wrote it. I found it again by Google Search at Post A Day 2011/ Wordpress Challenge.  Kudo’s to whomever wrote it and thanks for the sanity. I share it here as a thoughtful way to make Christmas giving in 2011 a more personal, relevant and American experience.  Just don’t forget: Thanks-giving comes first. Enjoy:

Christmas 2011 - The Birth of a New Tradition

NOTE: NO OFFENSE: you can Insert your Country for the same gift giving New 2011 Traditional Ideas

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!