Poetic Shutterbug

I went to my local neighborhood mall yesterday to wander around and see the Christmas tree.  The stores were buzzing with excitement with lines of people checking off their holiday lists and children running around playing with motorized cars and toys.   What really struck me was the fact that Santa was all alone for a very long time.  He looks pretty lonely there doesn't he? I watched him for a little while, while taking shots of the mall decorations.  I thought to myself maybe I should go sit on his lap and tell him what I want for Christmas.  I actually thought it would be kind of fun until I realized that when asking myself what I wanted for Christmas, my mind went completely blank.  Why? It's because I have all I want and need.  There is absolutely nothing I want. For me, especially this year giving is much more important than receiving.  I have always considered holidays such as Christmas, Valentines Day etc... as an excuse for retailers to make "the

Giving Back @ Amazon Giving Back @ Createspace   Today I want to talk about volunteering and donating.  I grew up in a large family, Mom, Dad, me and three younger Brothers.  Giving back was instilled in us at an early age.  We were not rich by any stretch of the imagination and my parents always had to cut corners in order to make ends meet.  They scrimped and saved in order to send us all to Catholic school where they felt we would receive a good education - and we did.  I remember at a young age when we were all asked by my parents to give of our toys and used clothes to the community where less fortunate children could benefit from what we had.  We were always taught that whatever we had should be shared even though we did not have much.  I remember thousands of times my Mom would literally empty her wallet of bills and her coin purse of coins to help us and others.  These memories have always stayed with me. Over the years I have always donated to causes which were im