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A Christmas message

Christmas
In my conversation with one of Las Cruces’ homeless citizens, he related his main concern—interestingly, it was not about himself. He hadn’t seen during the recent cold snap another homeless fellow often seen in the area with his rescue dog, a once abused Rottweiler named “Pretty Girl”.
The historical Jesus of Nazareth, at the end of his life, owned even less than the gentleman I interviewed, despite being the focus of an orgy of gift-giving. Sadly, many who profess to be Christians today would consider Jesus’ careless management of his personal affairs and disdain of material possessions a character flaw.
A lowly beast, known worldwide through books and movies as “Greyfriars Bobby” (through a publisher’s mistake, also called “Blackfriar’s Bobby”) made of his life an example for everyone in this season. This dog, in his own way, gave his beloved master, buried in a Scottish churchyard, the gift of 14 years of his life and loyalty, leaving the grave only to take his meals at a nearby tavern as townspeople realized his sacrifice.
Not an especially religious man, Lord Robert Stevenson Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide scouting movement, managed despite a body shutting down in his final days, to pen a final message to the scouting community containing the following words: “try to leave this world better than you found it”.
Your credit card account will suffer no distress by giving a gift this season following the examples I cite. You won’t even have to wrap it.

Dan Townsend

Las Cruces

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