I want to take a few minutes to say thank you to some deserving people. To all those who got together and held a Christmas Eve dinner for the homeless and disadvantaged – Thanks. To the kind people at MCC supportive Care Services who gave us games, music, story telling and a great meal on Christmas Day itself – Thanks. To the thoughtful member of al-anon who invited several of the meeting attendees who lacked a Christmas dinner destination to join her and her family – Thanks. To the people who put on the pancake breakfast in downtown old Abbotsford: nice job – I saw the joy on the faces of several people who attended and received not only food but many items very useful to those on the street and/or in need and heard how thankful they were for your thoughtfulness. To those who served a lunch at the Salvation Army on Tuesday December 27, I (we) appreciated your time – especially the young ladies who where there with their mother. Not only were they instrumental in serving the food but also their smiles and manners were a special Christmas treat – Thank you.

A general thank you for all those who took it upon themselves to help give those of us who need help to get back on our feet to have a more merry time.

I would be very remiss if I failed to take the opportunity to thank those members of the congregation of the Church of the Nazarene who come down to Street Hope on Wednesday evenings with food (tasty), gloves, hats, outerwear, clothes and the so necessary bedding. More, they take the time to get to know the people, to listen, to talk to them and treat everyone as real human beings. What a boost to the moral. What a difference in the way all to many treat the homeless – as a nuisance to be avoid and/or removed from (their) sight.

Oh and for those scrooges at social assistance for their dis-assistance a BAH-HUMBUG!!

For our so called leaders – a mighty BAH-HUMBUG for not only failing to address the many and varied shortcomings of the current system, but also for the fact that they so often fail to see the reality of the situation through their rose coloured glasses and for failing to heed Albert Einstein when he said “A man should look for what is, and not what he thinks should be”. Open up your minds, take a look at the real world and start to address the situation.