Politically correct and community.

Last evening was the annual department “Winter Appreciation Dinner.” It is called that since we got politically correct, long before I got here. It used to be called the Christmas Party. We are discouraged from withing anyone Merry Christmas in the attempt to be politically correct. I kind of avoid it by wishing everyone “Mele Kalikimaka.” Hawaiian for Merry Christmas, but no one in Oklahoma knows what it means. What is wrong with saying “I wish the best for you and your family at this time of year.” And why do we have to reserve these thoughts for the month of December? Aren’t they appropriate for any time of year?

We had a scare this morning, or perhaps I should say that my wife did. I only heard about it when she called. A neighbor came by to ask if she had our next-door neighbor’s phone number. Our next-door neighbor is a widow in her 80’s. The yard maintenance people had come and were not able to contact her. The police were contacted; a friend with a key was found and came to open the house. She had fallen and was not able to reach a phone. Everything worked out, and she is ok. It shows the importance of the community. We are going to make sure we have contact information for all of our neighbors and they have our next of kin’s contact numbers. If it had not been for the yard maintenance people, who knows what the outcome might have been.