Do you remember the day someone came out and said to the world, “Chocolate is good for you!”? Did you throw yourself on your knees, look up to the sky and say, “Thank you, Jesus!”? Neither did I … but I wanted to … I think I did in my mind. Valentine’s Day is upon us. Lent is still at bay. This is our window. We can eat chocolate guilt-free. Unless, of course, you’re one of those really weird folks who don’t like chocolate. I met one once. I couldn’t relate. I mean, really. That’s like not liking dogs. It might be a sin. I don’t know.

Talking to my friend, Tom Long, today, he told me he liked my column last week, but. Whenever there’s a “but,” you know that’s not going to be good. His but was, “You are too nice. You gotta get an edge. Start complaining.” So here goes.

People make a difference. Some do it positively. Some do it negatively. Chatting with some friends this morning, a name came up. It is a local woman who has made and continues to make a huge positive difference in the world, especially in our area. I am talking of Ruth Hansen.

I was talking with Doug Robbins who owns Radio Shack and Robbins Book List. We were chatting about books. I mentioned one about Vietnam and he said how the war ended before he was old enough to really be aware of it. That struck me. Vietnam was such a big, horrible thing in our lives that I forget that it is truly just history to most of the adults alive today. Vietnam ended in 1975.

I read the whole Harry Potter series and saw the movies. Many of you did too, I’m sure. I felt I had to do it because I needed to stay current. So, when I read a quote by Ellen Degeneres last week, it made me laugh out loud and want to share it with others. Ellen said, “I can’t believe this is the last Harry Potter movie. It’s the end of an era. Who knows, maybe someone will turn it into a book.” That kind of humor that comes out of nowhere and is just darn silly – well, it’s golden. We all need it and we need to share it when we hear it.

We think of Christmas as merry, happy and ho-ho-ho. It is, for most people. But this year, I am very aware of many who are not merry, happy and full of ho-ho-ho.

Sometimes it isn’t the big things in life that are the most important. I am talking words here. We think big words mean someone is smart. That may be true. However it was brought to my attention the other day, that six letters made into three teeny words, really say a lot and can make a person feel mighty proud.

Today is my grandson, Louie’s, birthday. He is six. It is also the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I watched the news tonight. They were honoring 120 of the men who survived Pearl Harbor. It made me think of how that history is going fast. Those survivors are in their late eighties. How will this history stay alive? How will little Louie know what it is all about? It will stay alive because we will remember and we will pass it on. It is our familial and civic duty.

When I was a kid, I loved to read fairy tales. In some there would be giants and in my mind I saw them as huge, tall, great big creatures — inhuman. Now I am grown up and I know what giants are really like.
They can be short, slender, normal looking and maybe even walking with a walker. In my adult eyes, Fred Meijer was a giant in every good sense of the word.

How wrong is it to complain at Thanksgiving time? I mean, am I missing the point? Remember that song that went, “Turn, turn, turn…”? Well, everywhere I turn lately, there is change. I don’t like change very much. I like growth. Is there a difference here? Am I being too picky? Please don’t email me with answers to that.