CHRISTMAS WRITING PROMPT #13: HOW LATE DO YOU LEAVE YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING?
Today’s writing prompt is…
Long ago and far away when I had more people to shop for I always made a habit of getting all or at least 99% of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. I never understood people who wait until the last minute. That’s not me. I don’t like crowds and believe me the department stores in New York City and the surrounding suburban Malls are crowded with people who are last minute shoppers. It is like the plague of locusts converging and fighting over toys, clothes, household items etc…. Crazy!!
In this day and age of Internet Web Access Cyber Shopping is the way to go. Now as my family has considerably shrunk and I only have my brother Stephen to shop for I can find 98% of his gifts online. I tend to go with quality and trusted online stores like Land’s End. Of course now we are both in our mid-50s so Stephen likes clothes not toys. However he appreciates fun items also. As a full-time working Woman I can order Stephen’s gifts and have them sent straight to his QCP Group Home Residence.
These last few years have been economically challenging for me but through hard work, long hours of overtime, personal sacrifice and frugal shopping I have been able to pretty much ensure that Stephen gets some gifts for Christmas. I don’t care if I have to eat Ramen Noodles for two months I’m more than happy to make changes in my lifestyle or give up things I want so Stephen can have. Stephen Vincent Palmer is the Greatest Autism Guy in the Whole Wide World!!
CHRISTMAS WRITING PROMPT #14: WRITE A LETTER TO SANTA
Dear Santa,
#1 On my Christmas Wish List ~~ My health. Remember that mini stroke I had back in November 2008. You know the one that took a good deal of the vision in my left eye. Please reverse the effects of the stroke. Heal my back and my digestive system. I’m exhausted nearly all the time and suffer from stomach problems which makes it every difficult to do anything with my brother Stephen. Eventually because of my health I will cede most of that to his Group Home Residence and his Day Treatment Center. Yes Reverse the effects of aging. I’m spending all kinds of money that I don’t have on treatments to keep the pain and tiredness at bay with little success.
Finances
I need money. Most of the time I’m barely getting by. I look at the balance in my checking account today and there is no money for Christmas. In fact my decision is whether to celebrate Christmas or to pay my rent. Santa you know which one will win unless you come through with a whole lotta cash and be quick about it. Christmas meal will most likely be canned food, PB&J, and whatever is affordable at the local bodega. Oh yes there is the Halal food truck near my job. Cheap and tasty meals.
Explain to me why Christmas does not come to the working class or the poor. Also I’m gonna need between $3K & $4K to find a safe affordable place to live or I’m be homeless this time next year. I know you don’t visit folks in the Homeless Shelters so bring me an affordable apartment in a safe neighborhood near the subway!! I have been working Double Shifts meaning 16 hour days with little or no sleep. Fix this now!!
My Brother Stephen
I Love my brother Stephen dearly but as time goes along between my health and my lack of money I realize I won’t be able to spend as much time with him as I want unless you fix requests #1 and #2. Realistically I can’t do the things I used to do. Every month simple tasks get harder and harder. However I’m glad Stephen is in a Residence because the day is coming when my health will give out and I won’t be able to be there for him. Tell me why Life is one continuous Struggle?!
Final request. Bring back all the people; family and friends I Loved and Lost over the last 25 years. Most of all bring back my parents Edward and Mable Palmer whom I desperately need. Frankly I’m sick and tired of all the fake people who tell me to be strong and keep going with out actually lifting a finger to help me. I need my Mother and Father. I need to hear their voices. I need to hug them and be close to them. Memories are not enough they don’t work! Love from afar is no good. I want them here with me because I need their help. Sick and tired of the phony folks who live in a Fairy Tale Fantasy Make-Believe world who have all the Blessings of Life who tell those of us facing disaster just to hang on when there is nothing to hang on to!!
But I remember you don’t exist and all my wishes, hopes, dreams and goals for Christmas and 2017 will most likely go up in smoke.
However if you are real and you actual read this letter:
What is your favorite smell? What memory does it remind you of?
Roses. My Mom Mable Elizabeth Palmer.
Mom Mable Palmer
What type of pet do you have or want to have?
My Cat Sylvester. One day I wish I could have a cottage in the woods yet near the city where I could have even more cats maybe 3 or 4 kitties.
Sylvester
Sylvester in my old Laundry Bag
Sylvester on Rumpled Bed
Are you usually late, early, or right on time?
Early. Thank you Uncle Sam United States Army!!
For recharging, would you rather meditate, swim, walk, listen to music, write, read, yoga, qigong other?
SLEEP!!! However if I can’t get my naps in Soulful Struts where I walk and take photos, listening to music, writing and read are also good.
Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
That everything is continuing to go very well on my new work position. My job has now actually become enjoyable! I’m also Thankful that God has met ALL My needs, My Bills are paid and I was able to buy some gifts for my brother Stephen.
Looking forward to next week because I have some time off coming to me and I will be able to spend time with my Awesome Autism Guy Stephen Palmer!! Stephen’s Group Home is having a Holiday Party this coming Saturday which I will try to be there, God Willing!!
A few days ago my room-mate informed me that next year he is leaving as our rents are going up to the stratosphere so if he leaves so must I. My room-mate is a school teacher and I am a museum security guard. New York City rents are brutalizing folks like us. In order to live comfortably in New York City you must make upwards of $70 a year this is a salary that neither school teachers nor security guards can ever achieve unless you take on extra jobs or work non-stop overtime.
Basically the working class is being crushed. Big time!
I’m looking to move from my current Brooklyn location to either Washington Heights in Manhattan or to the Boogie Down Bronx. Must be near the subway walking distance to the train and cat friendly. Where I go my cat Sylvester goes with me. Safety is also paramount.
I’m also willing to consider Queens as long as it is a short walk to the subway. Also wherever I go whether I wind up in a studio or a one-bedroom it must have enough room and be in a safe neighborhood where Stephen can visit me. It would also be nice for the neighborhood to have amenities like good grocery stores, banks, a Walgreens pharmacy, etc…
I hope to make the move sometime around Spring/Summer/Early Autumn 2017.
Please contact me privately using my Gmail address. Thanks!!
Gentrification is pushing working class people like me out of the neighborhood. Once the Hipsters start moving in the rest of us are forced to leave. I like Brooklyn, I enjoy living here and wish that I could stay. Truthfully since I will be making more money in my new position technically I could stay if I worked DOUBLE SHIFTS FOUR TIMES A WEEK!! Yes if I did maximum overtime which would mean giving up writing, photography and naturally blogging I could stay in my Beloved Brooklyn. If I give up having any kind of life including Not Seeing Stephen I could remain put but I’m not willing to do that so move I must!!
I just wanted to add the link of a blog post that really impressed me. Being pretty or beautiful is temporary and my days of pretty are long over. When pretty fades that’s where Strong takes over.
Now anybody who has been reading my blog posts over a period of time knows that even though I’m on Team Love that I am Not on Team Sucker or Team Doormat. I am a Soldier (U.S. Army 1977-1981) A Warrior ready to fight for my people. I will battle for All peoples who have been disenfranchised!
“You may not be interested in war, but war may be interested in you.”
– Leon Trotsky
Then it’s on Like Donkey Kong!!
I will fight and do battle as did my Biblical namesake!!!
Judges 4-5
New King James Version (NKJV)
Deborah
(See the Full Biblical text below)
However I do most of my fighting with my pen because as the expression goes the Pen is mightier that then sword.
4 When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. 3 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?”
8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”
9 So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men under his command,[a] and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, which is beside Kedesh.
12 And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lordhas delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17 However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.” And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.
19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’”
21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. 22 And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple.
23 So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
The Song of Deborah
5 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:
2 “When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the Lord!
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
4 “Lord, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water; 5 The mountains gushed before the Lord, This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways. 7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel. 9 My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the Lord!
10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges’ attire, And who walk along the road. 11 Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the Lord, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the Lord shall go down to the gates.
12 “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam!
13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The Lord came down for me against the mighty. 14 From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff. 15 And the princes of Issachar[b]were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command;[c] Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. 16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, And why did Dan remain on ships?[d] Asher continued at the seashore, And stayed by his inlets. 18 Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 “The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver. 20 They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera. 21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength! 22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel[e] of the Lord, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents. 25 He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out cream in a lordly bowl. 26 She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split and struck through his temple. 27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; At her feet he sank, he fell; Where he sank, there he fell dead.
28 “The mother of Sisera looked through the window, And cried out through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’
31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength.”
Espiritu en Fuego/A Fiery Spirit 