I raised some questions last week about the Facebook “friend” who posted a vulgarism and couldn’t (wouldn’t?) delete it. Well, far be it from me to turn away from a custom-made bulletin article, so allow me to elaborate a bit.
There are those who accomplish great things. And then there are those who have neither the grit, nor the talent, nor the patience to do so and yet wish to receive the same amount of credit. I try to associate with the first group as much as possible, hoping some skill and/or wisdom may somehow rub off. I try to avoid the second group entirely — but since their number seems to be growing every day, and since they all appear to be on social media, I am growing frustrated.
I think I’ve finally figured out what bugs me about selfies on social media. It’s that attention is being drawn, almost exclusively, to the outward appearance. Sometimes it’s our accomplishments, sometime it’s our misfortune, sometimes it’s our surroundings. But usually it’s just our looks. A new haircut, a cute expression — worse yet, the infamous “Which do you like better?” post, which literally begs for audience participation. All of this is a 21st Century way of saying, “Look at me! Look at me!”
This time of year, most of us have cultural, familial, and guilt-induced obligations to bestow gifts on various ones near and (to one degree or another) dear to us. For the Hammons family, thankfully, our holiday shopping is just about concluded. (I deceive. Apologies. Tracie’s holiday shopping is just about concluded.)
But I keep hearing talk about Jesus being “the reason for the season.” I like Kylie’s response to that saying — “That’s ridiculous,” she says. “Jesus is the reason for everything.” (They do make you proud, don’t they?)
I have always felt a bit sorry for accompanists. You see some famous entertainer on television or whatever, singing a “solo.” But there are two people on stage — the singer, plus a piano player, or violinist, or accordion player. (Bad luck with the last one there.) They both give it their all, and the…
