Kay Hively: It's Christmas!

At long last, my beauty shop has opened again for business. It had been so long since I had had my hair done by someone who knows what they are doing. Between myself and my husband, it was a comedy getting my head and hair cleaned, forget about a set. At least it was clean, but I got a real shampoo and I got a cut as well. Boy, did that feel better!

For quite a while, everyone seemed to be without some kind of service or some thing. The thing that got the most attention was toilet paper. But there were cleaning supplies and good old Clorox. Whoever thought they could not pick up a bottle of Clorox?

I noticed on television several women commentators who said something like, “Every woman in America wants a haircut.” I think the same could be said about men as many pointed to their growing mop of hair. But there were other needs, everything from bread to flour, sugar and eggs.

A local egg producer gave away many dozens of eggs. Eggs that did not seem perfect in size or shape and cannot go into the grocery store were given away. I heard about several places that got these “imperfect” eggs and made them free to the public. Many people were grateful to take them home to their families.

The world has changed in the last five or six months and I don’t know if it will ever be the same. Some say that this was the work of God, bringing us back to reality. They claim that we had gotten a little too big for our britches and needed to be brought down a peg or two.

You never know, there may be some truth to that. I certainly believe all that is within God’s mighty power.

No matter the cause, we must keep a watch out for those who suffered badly. Many lost jobs, many lost friends or relatives and many came out of it with a debt that they may not be able to shoulder.

It falls on our shoulders to help the less fortunate. Maybe you can help. Donate to a good local cause. Buy a sack of groceries for a needy family. Give someone without a car a lift. Pass along some clothes that your family no longer needs or at least give someone a friendly smile. Someone said that a smile is the shortest distance between two people.

Just between you and me, I think we should consider every day that’s left in this year to be Christmas and we need to be Santa each and every day.

(Kay Hively is a historian, author and former editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daily News and Neosho Post.)