EleanorsMine

Before I say word one- this is my expressed opinion, I am not pushing it on anyone, or telling anyone else to feel this way...........


When I think of helping someone during the holidays- I want to help the poor old woman or man who has very little money and needs food or help to heat their home. Or I think of the poor family who has just become unemployed, and without help their children will not have Christmas, the homeless man or woman or child who needs a christmas meal or better, the family whose house has burned down and now they have nothing you get my drift...... I emphathise with this kind of hurt. It hurts me more than anything to think of this stuff going on. I give to the salvation army at Christmas, and donate stuff to the Hannah Homes throughout the year(they sell in thrift stores to raise money for shelters). I can't stand it, and wish these situations would get more assistance........But its stuff like below that crawls my behind and stinks the help from those who need it.

When I think of helping someone I do NOT think of this:
The family could work but chooses not to who expect someone else to buy their Christmas presents for them, and has more kids than old mother hubbard on top of it. Without going into flowing detail, I have been asked to "donate a generous amount" to something such as this for my sons class project. Last time it was You are expected to purchase this $50 leggo set for this child- you need to send it in by X date( I did not, I sent a gift I thought appropriate in lieu of it). Hades, my neice and nephew don't even get $50 leggo sets from me.

So am I being the grinch or is it really not right? Am I a scrooge for not being in the mood to do this? With that said, I am not asking anyone to share my opinion I am just asking if I am in the wrong...

ItsNotABulliT

[/rant on]

No one can force you to donate, thats why its a donation. And you shouldn't feel any sort of guilt because they want you to spend 50 bucks for a kid thats obviously not hurting that bad, i mean come on...a 50 leggo gift is a priority?

Anyways, when it comes to donations. I prefer to donate my time. This way I have no doubt. That the gift of my time and energy is going to the cause intended. While I doubt that theres an evil leggo monger trying to get as many legos in a pile, I liked your idea from last year with an applicable gift.

Donated gifts shouldn't out weigh your own family, and don't forget, it Christmas, not Giftmas. These are holidays to celebrate the lives and families around you (even your mustang source friends).

Personally, don't buy the dang leggos, if you want to donate, which it sounds like you do, get something for like 10 or 15 dollars that goes a ways.

[/rant off]

PS too tired to proof-read, hope this comes out ok.

EleanorsMine

The leggos were last year, I bought Leggos, just a $10 set instead so my kid wouldn't feel left out.

I do NOT want to donate to this years cause, Its got my fuse lit. Come on? I had too many kids so I can't afford Christmas? you folk buy it for me.. Kiss my crack..Thing called Birth Control. don't have more kids than you can afford!

My little boy loves to shop for me..he comes home the other day. MAMA! we are going on a field trip to Walmart, I need some money so I can buy you a present. School didn't tell them they were going on a shopping trip for this family....Neither did I. What can I do?

GhostTX

Stick to your morals and beliefs, not someone elses. Remember, you want your kids to have the values you instill in the them, not a school district or teacher therein.

[rant]Don't get me started on PEZ dispencer mothers and their leeching off of welfare checks.[/rant]

EleanorsMine

I won't get you started if you don't get me started.....


HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
by Dr. Suess

Every Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...

But the Grinch,
Who lived just North of Who-ville,
Did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But,
Whatever the reason,
His heart or his shoes,
He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos,
Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown
At the warm lighted windows below in their town.
For he knew every Who down in Who-ville beneath
Was busy now, hanging a mistleoe wreath.

"And they're hanging their stockings!" he snarled with a sneer.
"Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!"
Then he growled, with his grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For, tomorrow, he knew...

...All the Who girls and boys
Would wake up bright and early. They'd rush for their toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast!
And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would start on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast-beast
Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least!

And THEN
They'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing!

They'd sing! And they'd sing!
AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!
And the more the Grinch thought of the Who-Christmas-Sing
The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!
"Why for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!
I MUST stop Christmas from coming!
...But HOW?"

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE GRINCH
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"I know just what to do!" The Grinch Laughed in his throat.
And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat.
And he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick!
"With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like Saint Nick!"

"All I need is a reindeer..."
The Grinch looked around.
But since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Grinch...?
No! The Grinch simply said,
"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!"
So he called his dog Max. Then he took some red thread
And he tied a big horn on top of his head.

THEN
He loaded some bags
And some old empty sacks
On a ramshakle sleigh
And he hitched up old Max.

Then the Grinch said, "Giddyap!"
And the sleigh started down
Toward the homes where the Whos
Lay a-snooze in their town.

All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air.
All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care
When he came to the first house in the square.
"This is stop number one," The old Grinchy Claus hissed
And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.

Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch.
But if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch.
He got stuck only once, for a moment or two.
Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue
Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row.
"These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"

Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took every present!
Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums!
Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!

Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast!
He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast!
He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash!

Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee.
"And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!"

And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove
When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who!
Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two.

The Grinch had been caught by this little Who daughter
Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water.
She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,
"Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?"

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.
"So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
"I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."

And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
And he got her a drink and he sent he to bed.
And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her cup,
HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!

Then the last thing he took
Was the log for their fire.
Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar.
On their walls he left nothing but hooks, and some wire.

And the one speck of food
The he left in the house
Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.


Then
He did the same thing
To the other Whos' houses

Leaving crumbs
Much too small
For the other Whos' mouses!

It was quarter past dawn...
All the Whos, still a-bed
All the Whos, still a-snooze
When he packed up his sled,
Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings!
The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!

Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mount Crumpit,
He rode to the tiptop to dump it!
"Pooh-pooh to the Whos!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
"The all the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO!"

"That's a noise," grinned the Grinch,
"That I simply must hear!"
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

He stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...?
Well...in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he...

...HE HIMSELF...!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Kluski

Maybe you can buy her some of that for a gift.

Treadhead

I feel the same as you do about this ridiculous waste of resources. I think you would really love my job(Police) April. I get to see it 365 days a year. I have no problem at all if someone really needs it but when you go on a call and see someone with 14 kids in one apartment it just makes you wonder. I had one woman tell me she don't need no job when the Man gives me a check. I just don't feel sorry fro these people that put themselves in this situation but want everyone else to get them out of it or pay their way while they stay in it. I'm with you on this one April so don't feel bad about it.

Donna

You are not a scrooge. I agree with you. Its one thing if you do something because you want to, another if you feel forced into it. Surely you are not the only parent to feel this way.

future9er24

i don think ur a scrooge. u did the right thing. $50 is a lot too expect for a donation. better donations thana lego set would have been things like clothes, books, food, etc. not expensive toys. give the kids something that shows you care, not just that you have extra cash to blow. i woulda done the same thing.

things like this make me sick

EleanorsMine

You have the job I respect both. My Mother and Father in law are both Retired Suffolk County NY cops.Their stories keep me amused endlessly. My Stepfather in law was as well- he worked the Amityville killings(movie is all BS)..My father in law won't give me a PBA card because he said I would use it to get out of tickets. Hubby gets one though- go figure, I have no tickets, he has a bunch.

But COME ON!
Here is a sad story that went bad- last week here a family of like six' house burned down........Which is horrible, I would not wish a house burning on my worst enemy..........But then the Mother came on the news and said- you have to bless me with replacement things(not a direct quote) I don't have to do jack....

There is a company here, I forget who because Admittedly I have slept about 3 minutes all week and am in a fog, it was on the news last night- they are losing their jobs on the 30th of this month. They have families- THAT is the kind of people who need help.

Our company went through a slow period 3 years ago after 9/11 when no one was spending money, and laid off half the techs 3 weeks before Christmas, I couldn't even enjoy it that year because I felt so bad.


You wanna know who ticks me off more than anyone? That litter of kids in iowa..... because they want to have 7 kids at a time they get a free house, free car,free medical care and free jobs? Hello? My husband and I work our ballz off, have cars we have sacrificed for the good of the company, have two kids and pay $120 a week for medical insurance---------gimme..I need a Mustang and the Blueberry house around the corner. I don't see LHJ sticking us on the cover of their magazine..What makes them more special than anyone else?

Here is what I would to to be a wise ****:
Send them a nice card with a thing inside- in the spirit of the season a donation has been made in your name to the human fund(seinfeld)

mav

EleanorsMine

Of course you realize that our tax money pays them for each kid they have? So its to their benefit to have 10 or more? I know Uncle Sam is getting me for like $200 a week, so thats one welfare child per week I am footing the bill for. PLUS I have to pay for my own medical bills because my insurance blows goats... I ain't getting free medical care!(Hades, I don't even get GOOD medical care for the price I pay). Let's not get me started on that topic.


When I first got married and we were starting out with this we were PO! thats so poor we couldn't afford the rest of the letters. All that did was motivate us to work harder so we wouldn't be down in the dregs anymore, and it paid off. Wonder why they don't feel the same way? No one footed the bill for us, we worked our butts off and helped ourselves.

Kluski

There you go. You should tell the teacher that you have already given them a "gift."

GhostTX

Because they learned that they don't have to work in order to get money.

There was a big ...uproar... here when the Dallas Morning News (newspaper) ran a four part article about this woman who had 3 kids and lived with Grandma and how tough she had trying to raise her kids *sob* and that she wants them to have a better life *sniffle*. She wants them to go to college *boo hoo* and not make the same mistakes she did.

Oh...by the way, she's pregnant with a fourth child. Father is no where to be seen. She's declined to have a free surgery to get her tubes tied in case later in life she gets married and wants another kid. Oh...and...after her fourth kid she'll be collecting about $42K/year from US.

EleanorsMine

Here, this will make your teeth itch....

Black Belt

NO ONE! works down here-they don't have to. Free housing, free money, free transportation. You don't wanna be caught in the lone store on government check day either. They use their welfare to buy better stuff than I own and more groceries too. :bang: You oughta see their cars, How many people on welfare do you know driving escalades? It was something to drive by the handout office and see everyone picking up checks in their brand new cars complete with those high dollar spinners and everything else the average "Donkey named jack" can't afford.

I actually lived down here for 20 miserable months. We found a place for sale- 40 acres,a lake and a freaking mansion for a hundred grand.. Now we know why its so cheap..Want to unload it and can not give it away now.

Also no education to speak of, ONE public school and the so called "seg" academies" which are in actuality a big screw-job to take $500+ a month of your money and dumb your kids up to be the resident village idiot. For what I spent in stupiding my kids up I could be driving Eleanor+her twin right now.

Treadhead

You don't know how many times I wish I had my old M-1 tank at work so I could crush a few cars. Too many people that don't have their priorities straight. :bang: