It’s four days until Christmas.
Even more amazingly, it’s 11 days until we enter 2010.
For everyone except the youngsters, it seems like only yesterday that the world was whacked out about Y2K and how it was going to shut down the universe. Somebody’s still kicked back on an exotic beach someplace downing a fancy drink and laughing about how much money he made from that panic.
But this week, it’s time for “Jingle Bells” and last-minute shopping. I’m sure I’ll be out there among folks trying to find the perfect gift — at least the most perfect one still available.
One would have to be blind to miss all the wonderful and generous efforts that have been going on in our communities to help those on hard times experience some joy this Christmas. Even though I believe the old axiom that the best things in life aren’t things, it’s nonetheless a terrific gesture to make sure that people get some gift that shows someone was indeed thinking of them.
And I’ve been thinking about folks to bestow certain gifts upon, at least if I had unlimited resources. But I’m a newspaper guy. I have extremely limited resources. But it’s the thought that counts, right?
For Alderman Matthew Petty, for example, I would wrap up a compass. He’s a bright young man trying to find his way in a complicated world of choices about what one does and says. Perhaps a compass would help him along the right path. Maybe I can find one that mounts on a handlebar.
Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan certainly deserves a gift for Christmas. As I told him one day a few months back, he’s done better than I expected in his first year as mayor, including what I would consider a very successful response to the horrible ice storm that descended on Northwest Arkansas in January. Perhaps the best present he could get would be a week on a tropical island with a good book. He’d probably settle for a winter this year with no ice at all.
For the residents who live near Red Oak Park in west Fayetteville, it’s a year where they probably will get what they need rather than what they want — waders. What they want is a fix for the tremendous amount of drainage that has eroded a mini-canyon through the park, but city officials over the years have found new ways to ignore their troubles. The city hasn’t ponied up the money to creating a lasting problem. Some people believe cash is a tacky gift, but the folks out there would welcome a little money.
For the Razorback football team, I’d like to give them another year of Ryan Mallett as quarterback. Problem is that’s a one-of-a-kind gift, and I’m afraid there might be a higher bidder out there. Perhaps they should just hope for some celebratory barbecue ribs in Memphis on an upcoming Saturday night.
The Razorback basketball team? Well, they’re a little harder to shop for. At least lately, it seems they have no interest in fashionable clothing or magazine subscriptions. Some of them could use a compass like Petty’s. Maybe a copy of “From Good to Great.” Or I could get them each a Nintendo DS so they have something to do when they’re riding the bench in street clothes. One thing they really need are fans who’ll show up. That qualifies as a hard-to-find gift this season.
I hope the gift Fayetteville and all of Washington County gets is a year ahead full of surprises and success. Sure, surprises can be bad, but they can also be good. And even when the bad ones come along — such as the ice storm this year — the community often witnesses some great experiences because of it.
What continue to be important for all — no matter whether one is president of the nation or a order-taker at a local drive-through window — are the relationships made and nurtured along the way. Families and friends are far, far more important than things or even grudges about past hurts.
None of us are in this world long enough to give up on relationships. As one gets older, meaningful relationships seem harder to forge as people get set in their ways. So the ones we have should certainly be viewed as gifts.
Merry Christmas to all.
Greg Harton is the local editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.