Easter Monday Musings...
Easter was always one of those times of year you really looked forward to ...at least as a child, and for reasons other than the religiously obvious.
It was getting the Easter Basket, filled with candy, jelly beans, and a few small toys.
And ALWAYS a great dinner, if not at home from Mom, then at a relative's house or even (if you could afford it and give Mom the week off)...a sit-down fancy restaurant! Now THAT was special.
Of course, this was always AFTER you went to church (or Sunday School)...that definitely came first. As I grew up, the Easter Bunny became a faded memory, and he probably retired to some nice hutch nestled high in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania.
Going to church and receiving the message as I got older was more important.
And all the Easter music (choral OR instrumental) was easily something worth listening to.
The redemptive story about salvation and sacrifice brought a certain (new) importance to Easter; the type you can't get with a candy-filled basket.
There was even a time when HOLLYWOOD embraced such notions.
I can't imagine anyone "taking a chance" on making a movie like King of Kings (Jeffrey Hunter), or even the series Jesus of Nazareth (Robert Powell), considering the nature of sales and marketing today.
Mankind, for the most part, is way too busy sticking their noses into their iPads, iPhones, or MP3s to bother with anything like that.
Take OUR neighborhood for example. (please...)
Easter Sunday becomes no different than any OTHER day down here...same old idiots doing the same old things, and usually at the same level of cacophony.
That's pretty damn pathetic, to have a life (if you can call it that) that is filled with so much "same"...never bothering to improve oneself, or educating oneself, or (God forbid) ENLIGHTEN oneself.
If there is ANYTHING that might be considered "change", it's the level of STUPIDITY displayed by the locals.
THAT is something these idiots ALWAYS can find ways to supplement.
And for some strange reason, these "people" will ALWAYS gravitate to OUR block...as if the ONLY house that can fully accommodate SO MANY others is the smallest section 8 rental on YOUR damn block.
Given that we only have 8 of 10 houses occupied, such morons will freely "take over" as much as possible.
Think of it like having folks such as these trying to cram TEN pounds of sh*t into a FIVE pound bag..they have THAT many people over to their "crib".
So much for trying to enjoy ANY holiday (on my part).
If nothing else, I do know what is meant by BOUNDARIES...as in I know my OWN (and stick to them, as well as knowing my limitations).
Others on the block...not so much. (if at all - your tax dollars at work once again, my friends)
Now, I readily admit to not "getting around much anymore" (as the song goes), but I do get out and about when it's required and is necessary.
That also doesn't mean that I am not trying to make myself a better person than I was yesterday. I am.
The Internet alone takes care of that much. it's like having the library COME TO ME (...and NO late charges).
I spend my fair share of time reading blogs, looking up facts and figures and reading stories about what's happening at any place in the world at any given time (like getting dozens of newspapers without paying those subscription rates or drying out an otherwise rain-soaked copy of the local paper, thanks to a carrier that doesn't take his job seriously enough).
I've become a "WATCHMAN" of sorts, I suppose.
And I think our society requires that such people exist these days.
We can no longer go to bed with the windows open, and definitely without the doors being locked (several times over in some areas).
We also cannot take for granted that whoever we hire to protect us will always be there...they simply cannot.
Yes, Easter DID mean more in times past as far as my life goes...
When I listen to the police radio, and hear about all the crimes being committed on EASTER SUNDAY, my heart just sinks.
Surely, there are better things to do than commit a crime, or batter a woman, or burglarize some home or business?
Apparently not, according to those doing those nasties.
When exactly did we wander off of the trail of civility and into the underbrush of apathy and ignorance?
And why should we all be a lot more CONCERNED about this appalling trend?
Life is meant to be lived.
And it is there to challenge us...every damn day.
No one (even God Himself) ever said that life would be "easy"...no way.
And many times, life can become overwhelmingly difficult to endure.
But each and every one of us (somehow) finds the strength to go just ONE more day forward...a mere 24 hours further.
And we do that again the following day...and so on.
I like to think of it as a way of being "reborn" every day. A new day, and (hopefully) a new (or better) "me" to walk into it.
Other people though, have not the will, nor the desire, or even the want to do anything today that they did not do the previous day...same old, same old to them.
A lifetime of existing in a rut...by and of their own design.
Somehow, I don't think that's anywhere in God's plan for any of them (not that they even care about it).
Now, I'd best restrain myself at this point, because I feel a sermon working it's way up...lol.
(that was also a few lifetimes ago)
Suffice it to say that in OUR house, we DO hold to that which is meant by Easter, from a Christian standpoint.
We know what is written in the Bible, and we take (by faith) the truths contained therein.
And I can tell you, that some days around this ghettohood, FAITH is about all you got in your arsenal to combat the forces that would strip you of your sanity.
But you do whatever you have to do, and use that which God provides, be it faith, or strength of will, or whatever you want to call it..
Easter seems to be a far cry from days of old.
It no longer seems to be about Easter parades along the boardwalks in NJ, or getting a new outfit to wear on Easter Sunday.
Not in neighborhoods like mine (in Fort Wayne), anyway.
It IS about knowing the REAL meaning of Easter, however...and being bold in your acknowledgment of it.
It's not about wailing the snot out of one another for some dumbass reason, nor is it about playing some ear-bleeding bass several blocks away to "prove your manhood". It's not about basketball, bling, or buckets of KFC.
It's about ONE MAN...who made a difference ALL those years ago. One man who was sacrificed and died in everyone's place...so we didn't have to.
That's not to say we can't die - quite the contrary...almost all of us die a little each day, and some have "died" (inside) more than once.
Many sacrifice, and some have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Others merely stand around and continue to take, because that's all they want (or care) to do.
Yeah, Easter used to mean a LOT more.
And it would sure be nice to have back some of the old-time Easter.
But whatever the case, let's never forget the REAL reason we celebrate the day.
It just might get us through the next 24 hours...
Or more.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.