'Tis Tuesday Folks...December 1, 2009

The Year Is Winding Down.
As we go about our activities in this new month of December, the month is winding down towards a new year. I always like to think of a new year as a new beginning. It's one more year that I have survived the old and another year is here to challenge me. I've talked to other persons, and they have told me they feel the same as I do.....as each year passes, it's a feeling of "whew I made it" another year.


The month of December always seems to go too quickly for me. I guess with shopping, cooking, activities, and just plain being busy, it makes the days go quickly, thus the month does too. I've always liked December though....one day it might be snowing, and the next might be 50 degrees. The one thing I don't like is the potential for icing on the roads in this month. The ground is still warm so that black ice is just waiting to jump on the "hardroads" as Greenviewanites always liked to call the highways. But you got to admit, that surface of the road is pretty hard, so it's a name that fits.


I remember when Route 29 was redone and straightened out...thank goodness some of those awful twists and curves were done away with. I was a kid when the new Rte. 29 was built. My dad farmed the land around, behind and including and across from the old Marbold mansion, so I was always out at the farm in the summer helping my dad feed the cattle and hogs or riding the horse. The men working on the highway would come over to the old Marbold mansion and get water to cool off and to sit and eat their lunches. That road building took a long time if I remember right, but of course they didn't have all of the fancy and efficient machines of today.


December is here to stay for thirty-one days. It will be a fun and busy month for most people, but we must not let it overcome us. We must all drive safely and without impairment. There are office parties which will offer drinks with alcohol. If you imbibe, don't drive. We have all told our children to never drink and drive, and as adults, we should all adhere to our own advice. You can have just as much fun without being under the influence. And, you will be much safer when you drive. Remember Greenview is a few miles away from everywhere so if you drink and drive this month, you will need to be on the highways. Be Careful!

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Let's Talk Charity.

Many of us have never had to go through a time when the financial times were bad. The old timer folks in Greenview used to sit at Emma's cafe and talk about how bad the depression was. Recently we didn't have a depression, but the times have been really bad for lots of people. Jobs have been lost, medical bills have piled up, and the cost of everyday necessities like utilities and rent have caused people to use all of their savings. I remember what it was like when I was trying to raise two kids as a single parent with no support from the father of the children. It took all of my money to keep a roof over our heads, to keep the kids in school and there were times I had to borrow money in order to have food in the house. Thank goodness that period was a fleeting time for me though. It came and went quickly. But for some people in these times, it's an every day piece of their lives.

What can you or I do to help? There are lots of things people can do. It starts with making sure Greenview people have enough to eat. The food pantry in Greenview has been here a long time and some people probably never think of it. But what if it was you who needed to depend on the food pantry? Many people do depend on it but the pantry need funds and foodstuffs to assure they will be around when people actually need them. You can donate non-perishable foods any weekday morning at the community building. The food pantry used to accept frozen deer meat for distribution to anyone who wanted the meat. You can contact the community building for further information on deer meat donations. When you do your weekly shopping the next two weeks, buy three of any of the following: vegetables, pasta, chili, tuna, boxed potatoes, boxed stuffing, toilet paper. At the end of two weeks, you will have six things to donate to the Greenview Food Pantry. Even one can or box of foodstuffs will help. Just do it!

Every Christmas the firemen in our village help assure that needy children in the village will get some toy presents on December 19. You can give new toys or money. These presents or monies can be given to the fire chief Bill Eddings or taken to Rhofl's Implement. Our firemen having been operating "Santa's Helper" for years and years. Help if you can.

Children also need clothes under the tree. It's so sad when a child writes on his list "I need a coat" or "I need socks" or "I need gloves". Most of us don't even think about there being a need in our town for items such as this....but there are. And the Angel Tree helps assure that these needy children will get something new and warm. Each year there is a tree in the lobby of Petefish Skiles Bank with a beautiful tree laden with Christmas Angel tags. These tags are intended to provide clothing presents for children in the community. In order to prevent that a child in any single family would receive more or more expensive gifts than other children in the same family, the family unit is lumped together on the tags. If you feel you might be able to provide gifts for the entire family unit, then by all means, take a family tag. Just remember that you don't have to buy the most expensive item, just make sure it is new and nice, and presentable and in style. Also be sure to carefully look at the sizes and buy appropriately. If you feel you can help the children of our town, stop in Petefish Skiles Bank and take a tag. Typically all of the tags are taken early in the month, so be sure to get yours early. Call to make sure the tree is up and the tags are available.

And lastly, be kind to yourself. You've heard the old adage "Be Kind To Yourself". This saying is so true. People tend to forget about pampering oneself. It doesn't take much to make us Greenviewanites happy. We tend to be a jovial bunch of people who like just about everything. Think how nice it would feel to talk to a friend, or go to a local cafe for lunch with a friend, or even go shopping for one morning. Friends will laugh together, cry together and just be happy together, no matter how long the time is, friends can find time to talk to each other. Now's the time to pamper yourself.....go make an appointment for a pedicure....it's great to get that old dead and dry skin from the heals of your feet. Or go get color put on your hair. Or, best of all, if you are out shopping, go to somewhere like Panera Bread and get a cuppa of java and an asiago cheese bagel or a chicken salad sandwich. Yummy for the tummy and it will do wonders for boosting your morale.

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Support the Local Basketball Team. Go Bulldogs!

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Famous Birthdays December 1.

Bette Midler (1945) ---- She sure looks younger!

Richard Pryor (1940)

Woody Allen (1935)

Lou Rawls (1933)

Happy Birthday if this is your special day!

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A Special Poem For December 1

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat,

Please put a penny in the old man's hat.

If you haven't got a penny, a half-penny will do

If you haven't got a half-penny, God Bless You.

~~~Traditional English Christmas Rhyme

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Merry December....Have a Good Day!