**DISCLAIMER** My post for this week is by no means to be used as a substitute for advice from a medical professional. It is merely to share my own personal experience with COVID-19. When the COVID Pandemic first entered our lives 10 months ago, I knew in the back of my mind that I needed to be careful. I am on two immune suppressing medicines for Crohn's Disease, so illnesses hit me harder than the typical person. The year 2020 took on a sickly finish when my husband and I tested positive for COVID 19 December 28th. Because Pete and I got positive diagnoses, we felt our four sons should get tested too, otherwise, their quarantine period could be a lot longer. All four received positive diagnoses on New Year's Eve. Thankfully, their symptoms were milder than mine or Pete's, and our two younger boys were deemed safe to return to school, which they did yesterday. I wasn't sure what my opinion was of COVID 19 before my own personal experience took hold, but I knew I was in no way prepared for the toll it would take on me.
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If you saw a bunch of ambulances around town Sunday night with their lights going, you needn’t worry! What you saw was not a gathering of people needing a trip to the hospital, but the start of a new tradition for the Gillett Area Ambulance Service! The squad members and their families along with the new pastor for St. John’s Lutheran Church and his family went about town to do Christmas caroling for people in the city of Gillett. The crew started out at Serenity Gardens, made their way to Pine and Cedar Streets, then to South Elm Street and the roads behind St. John’s Catholic Church. The caroling continued to West Main Street before concluding on Orchard Circle. The ambulance service received names of people from others in the community, and from there the squad was able to bring cheer throughout the town. The squad made about 10 visits in the two-hour period of caroling. Before Sunday evening, I hadn’t gone caroling in 30 years, and I forgot how warm it feels to see joy from something as simple as singing. Some people at the houses we visited even sang along. At one of the visits the group sang to a 102-year-old woman who was on hospice: she and her family were unsure that she would make it to Christmas. For me, the highlight of the evening was being able to sing for her and her daughter. The Gillett Area Ambulance Service is planning on doing this every year. If you enjoy singing, keep this in mind if you would like to join us. I know that I will be back to join them in 2021 and spread the joy all over again. I have kept diaries on and off since I was nine years old. Because of that, I am able to share the following story with details that I couldn't remember off the top of my head now. To set the scene, my oldest brother Scott was flying home on Christmas Day, and anything that could go wrong-did…. Empty shops. Wide open walkways. Once in a while a person lugging a suitcase. All we could hear were the sounds of Christmas music as we slouched in a lonely looking group of chairs, wondering if Scott’s plane was ever going to arrive. The last place a 13-year-old girl wants to spend Christmas Day is in a nearly-empty airport in Milwaukee, yet there I was stuck with my Dad and two other brothers. Could Christmas day be any more boring? It was Christmas Day, 1986. My brother Scott learned that it was cheaper to fly on Christmas Day, so he booked a flight home to Wisconsin for that day. My mom was convinced that my younger brother and I were just going to sit in the living room all day and stare at the Christmas presents under the tree, so she forced Jon and I to go with Dad and David on the 2 ½ hour ride to the Milwaukee airport to pick Scott up. Dad had it all planned out-we would get to the airport just before Scott’s plane was scheduled to land, pick him up, and immediately make the lengthy drive home. I was mad at mom for making me go along on the ride, so as we got to the Milwaukee airport, I was hoping things would go like Dad planned. No…such…luck. We arrived about 12:30 pm. Dad drove our car to the short-term parking area, and the four of us made our way inside the airport. As we waited, we stood by the large windows and gazed at the other jets that were landing. Scott’s 1 pm arrival time came and went with no sign of his plane in sight. With our patience fading, Dad asked Jon to check the screens to see what the status was on his flight. When Jon returned the look on his face told us that he was not about to give us good news. “Dad, Scott’s plane had to make an emergency landing in Kansas City. Now his plane isn’t gonna get here until four..twenty..three.” Those three hours sounded like an eternity to my young mind, and when I found out that Dad brought as little money as possible with him, those hours seemed even longer yet. We hadn’t had lunch before reaching Milwaukee, and we were hungry. The only place that was selling food in the whole airport was a remote ice-cream shop. All that Dad afford to buy was one ice-cream cone, so that was what the four of shared for our ‘Christmas dinner’. Now four twenty-three passed, and still no sign of Scott. We learned from the airport staff that another passenger on Scott’s flight from Texas to Wisconsin had a heart attack on the plane, and that is why the plane made the emergency landing in Kansas City. Scott finally arrived in Milwaukee about 6 pm Christmas evening. After Scott gave us hello hugs, the next words out of his mouth were, “I am never travelling on Christmas Day again.” Because of how long the afternoon seemed, I forgot all about Dad parking in short-term until it was time to pay the parking fee. “That will be $22.50,” the attendant told Dad. (In today’s dollars, that same fee would be about $53.00.) “WHAT?! TWENTY-TWO FIFTY?!” Dad bellowed to the attendant. The attendant, obviously annoyed by Dad’s reaction, curtly replied, “This is short-term parking, sir!” After Dad reluctantly plucked the dollar bills from his wallet, Scott gave the attendant a sarcastic “Merry Christmas!” as Dad sped away from the parking booth to make our way to the highway home. I have published this story on a friend’s blog in 2013, but wanted to share it with my readers now. Who doesn’t have memories they chuckle at years later? Now that Dad and Scott have both passed away, a part of me would actually be ok with reliving this event just to see them again. I would just ask my Dad to bring more money along. I am so—fed—up. Christian related readings and photos have been deemed offensive for so long that I found myself growing numb to it. That changed last Friday morning when my husband Pete pointed out the Facebook post you see above. When I see the warning for violent and graphic content, I usually think they are hiding something disgusting-like a monstrous reptile or a violent incident.
Not this time. Facebook seems to feel perfectly justified lumping Baby Jesus and Santa Claus – symbols of peace and joy -- in with bloody scenes and ‘creepy crawlies’. I am outraged about this, and I wish I could do more to change it than simply writing about it here. The common reason for minimizing pieces like the one in the photos is its ‘indecency’ in the eyes of someone. I wish I could ask the faultfinders if the scene is really offensive in their eyes, or if they just say they are offended because our current society is so quick to cave to such protests. One such objector that comes to mind is Freedom from Religion. Many years they have appeared on local news insisting on things- like the removal of a public Christmas display- and the argument they used for their point was ‘separation of church and state’. There is debate as to whether or not the USA has been founded on Christian principles. What is certain is that history has shown us the founding fathers turned to their Christian faith to create the Constitution of our country. [1] Christmas was also declared a national holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870. [2] The word Christmas in fact comes from Middle English Cristemasse, which in turn comes from Old English Cristes-messe, literally meaning Christ’s Mass. [3]To my readers-please correct me if I’m wrong, but is there any other national holiday that elicits the controversy that Christmas does? And what can we everyday people do to put a stop to it? What I find truly offensive is Facebook’s need to censor this spectacular image!! The year 2020 has shown us that if we want to have a purposeful life, Jesus Christ needs to be in it. This picture and the poem both display that beautifully! Like I said in last week’s post, God is bigger than the media, and I for one will proudly honor Him. [1]https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding [2]https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas#:~:text=Christmas%20was%20declared%20a%20federal,States%20on%20June%2026%2C%201870. [3] https://jakubmarian.com/etymology-of-the-words-christmas-and-xmas/ Christmas in the Park has been a holiday staple in Gillett for several years. COVID has forced organizations worldwide to either cancel or modify annual traditions this year, and the Christmas in the Park committee is no exception. While the committee was forced to cancel the craft/vendor show and events in the expo hall, Santa will not be kept away! This Saturday December 5th, Santa will be at Zippel Park (N. McKenzie St.-Gillett) from 3-5pm. So social distancing can be practiced, kids will be giving letters to Santa and saying hello from the vehicles they're in rather than sitting on Santa's lap. Kids will receive a treat bag filled with things they can enjoy while waiting for the annual tree lighting at 5pm. Fireworks will follow after the annual lighting! Santa and his helpers will put all letters collected on Saturday into a drawing. Two lucky kids will receive one of the items they list in their letters, and have them delivered to their home on December 12th!! If you cannot get to an area business to obtain a form letter for your child(ren) to fill out, don't despair! You can print out the letter on your own computer using the link below! Be sure to include your name and phone number on the back of the letter so Santa's helpers can contact you if your child is one of the winners in the drawing! If you need any more information on the event this Saturday, please contact Betty Jane Baranczyk at 920-376-1706 or Irene Drake at 920-598-0074. The weather forecast shows a partly cloudy day with a high of 35, so it's just right for this holiday event-please join Santa on Saturday afternoon!
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