by Joe McKenzie
Lights: Zipping up the hill on Markley Road, I saw a house with a tree in each of their two windows. Even at 48 mph, I caught the twinkle. The trees and the lights were meant for drive-bys, like me. They were gifting me light. Light symbolizes hope, a victory of light over darkness. Sure, there are christmas lights everywhere. We drive around at night listening to Christmas songs and hymns to catch the spirit of the season. The interior tree lights I saw were an intentional action step. They were meant to be shared as I raced home. They were meant to remind me that even in these divided times, we need to have hope. And, for one evening, they slowed me down to enjoy the effort people were making to brighten my day.
Winter Hack: You can stop reading if you drive a vehicle that has a heated steering wheel. Or, if you just want to stop reading. For everyone else, I don’t know where I learned this cold weather hack - and it may be dangerous. But, at certain freezing temps, I open a glove and hold it in front of the warm air blowing through the vents in the front seat of my car. Old school? One glove at a time, please. You can do it at one of those long stop lights. You can have a passenger heat your gloves too. The heater warmth feels good and doesn’t take long to warm a glove right down to the fingertips.
Practice: If you are trying to improve a skill, you practice. At one time, we had young musician neighbors on each side practicing their pianos. In warm weather months, windows would be open and the sound of musical notes would find the evening breeze. It was practice hour. There was a lot of repetition. Hearing this dedication should have been more motivating for me. Living a good life takes regular practice, as well as patience with missed notes and mistakes. When is the best practice hour or when are we not working on it? Have you noticed your neighbors practicing? Some of them practice continuously. Like you. And, it shows.
Alien Smart: We always think that if people from another planet visit earth, they must be alien smart, like light years more intelligent than anyone we know. Duh! They would never say duh. They came from a galaxy far, far away - at night. Why did they do that? Did they go through the drive-through at Pancho’s on S. 9th for a burrito? They are curious. They are weekend tourists. We may remind them fondly of their dumb cousin who disappeared and couldn’t remember how to appear again. Even space aliens have a law of averages. Right? Some aliens must be just average, good hard working people. But then, how did they get here? Alien smart. Be on the look-out.
Effort: Seeing beyond the inflatable ten foot Santa and the adorable Bluey on lawns around Salina, wondering about the giant leftover skeletons dressed for Christmas, you can sometimes glimpse a single electric candle in a window or a shortened length of fading green garland blowing off a railing in the Kansas wind. This is someone making an effort. That effort adds to the spirit of our holiday. It all counts. We need these people. We need their effort too. We need to see the best wishes for our joy in the small wreath outside the apartment of a senior citizen and know that there is life being celebrated there too.
