The holidays are drawing near and so many of us are in
anticipation of the wonderful time we will have with family and friends.Yet so
many others will be entering the season with hunger as their companion; fear
hovering in the atmosphere in search of shelter from the winter winds; peace of
mind eludes many a stressed-out soul. Where is that turkey with all the
trimmings? Where are the candied yams hot from the oven steaming? Where
are the pies cooling in the window with the continual flow of family and
friends in and out of the kitchen?
Demons flying in on the wings of Halloween circulate in the sky plotting and planning the death of empathy. Evil
spirits slash away at the budget sending citizens reeling into the depths of
despair; Fiends cutting SNAP (Food stamps) gleefully derive a sinister pleasure
from this ignorant act that will result in the suffering of many women, children, seniors, and the disabled; villains initiating massive tax cuts
loom on the horizon of doom, fingers of greed ready to snatch money away from
those in need, and then add to their already colossal riches
In the United States 48.8 million
Americans are food insecure which means in trying to make ends meet they often
do not have enough money left over for good wholesome food. Thirteen million
children are hungry. One out of thirty children are homeless which translates
into there being about 2.2 million children homeless in
America. Thanksgiving and Christmas are special days out of the year where
the spirit of giving is stirred up in the heart of the community yet hunger, homelessness, and hardship are constants in the lives of
the millions of Americans living at or below the poverty line.
Halloween decorations…pumpkins
displaying snaggle-tooth smiles sit between friendly scarecrows watching
spiderweb formations trick-or-treating in and out of hunger pangs. Devastation
sinks deep into despair stimulating waves of sorrow…no food tomorrow. Baby
crying…children whining, “Mommy we hungry!” Multiple trips to the refrigerator
divulge the same empty shelves. Lord help me…what can I do? My children need
food!
Halloween slides into November…the
month of feasting. Turkey talk gobbles up the airways squawking about the sales
of the season while a mother’s grief goes unanswered. One callous swipe of the
executive pen and the affordable part of health care has been snatched from
millions of Americans. There is a direct correlation between eating well,
health, and education. Hungry children are at high risk for health issues
and poor academic achievement as well as behavioral problems.
The twins Empathy and Sympathy
feed the hungry making scrumptious dinners for those in the community during
the months of November and December. Their cousins, Peace and Joy, sing of an
everlasting love while distributing toys to little girls and little boys;
Kindness passes out coats, hats, scarves, and gloves to ward off the cold.
Compassion feels good about giving back to those in need.
Yet the New Year then tolls the bell of
fate and rings in hunger, homelessness, and poverty ever ready to continue
their reign of terror.
