Are You Hungry?

    I can never remember when I have had any period of going hungry in my life.   Although I grew up in relatively poor circumstances, even in the worst of times I had enough to eat.   Only in times of deliberate fasting have I felt any significant hunger pains.   Regrettably in these hard times many families in our area are finding it hard to put food on the table.   Therefore it is especially gratifying to  have participated in the Food Pantry drive by Greek Peak today.   Greek Peak provided free skiing for anyone bringing a can of food to the ski area.  What a great gift to both the skier and the community.    See the employees pictured below receiving and packing the food for the less fortunate of the community.

Food With a Smile

Packing the Bounty

The People Gather

  As you can imagine it the parking lot was full of cars and the slopes crawling with people.   For those of us that are mid-week skiers it was a different experience to share the slopes with the masses.   I arrived early before the 8:30 AM start and had an enjoyable two hour on all the different slopes as well as chatting with the not so frequent skiers.   A remarkable array of retro ski equipment was on display.   It was somewhat jarring to see the long straight skis and rear entry boots.   I also noted that the percentage of helmet wearing skiers and boarders was significantly lower than usual.   Since I was riding single on the lift, I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of good people.   A Japanese mechanical engineer, an Endicott construction worker,  and a young local automobile technician for example.    A cross section of fine folks enjoying the day.

  As I look forward to this Christmas Eve's  service I wish peace and good will to all people.   And along with these good wishes I challenge all to contribute to a better New Year for those who are less fortunate.   As you may know Bill Gates and Warrren Buffet have pledged to give away half their fortunes in their lifetimes.   A pledge I made to myself is less significant but I hope will in a modest way relieve hunger in my community and my goal is to donate a dollar a day in support of food pantry programs wherever I live.   And to those of you of adequate means I challenge you to do the same.

God bless us all.