The holiday season is a time for giving. I agree, but I need less help than others must assume.
First, I have decided I am anti-diamond. Doesn’t it seem like there are an unusually high proportion of advertisements for diamonds this time of year. Now, that the political ad season has past someone is determined to torture me with diamond ads. I do not plan to go to Jareds or to purchase chocolate diamonds. The sentiment in these ads seems to be that I if really love my wife I would let her and everyone else know by purchasing something that the ad folks promote as the symbol of affection. Of course the more costly the symbol the more appreciation. Who gets to decide which symbol serves as an expression of affection and why is a public display acceptable as a way to express private feelings? What does this say to people who must spend their resources on more basic and useful things?
My suggestion – travel – together or alone. Give the ones you love an opportunity to experience and learn. A rock is just a rock.
Second, this also must be the time to ask for money for charitable causes. We seem to be receiving a large number of phone calls. This must work because people are in a positive mood. I do not know how to sort out which cause is most important. I think during the holiday season responding to human suffering is most important. Cindy adopted a family through a service organization that attempts to assist victims of domestic violence. This is a holiday decision. We seem to have received many requests from the various colleges we have been associated with as students and now as university employees. Returning money to your employer seems a strange thing to ask. I know enough about the way state institutions work to know that the state provides a fraction of what it costs to run the institutions and alumni money is really necessary to provide a reasonable level of service. However, this would seem to prioritize a gift to the institution from which I graduated over the institution that employees me.
So, I think I am set. I have a plan.