‘Tis the Season to be Broke (standard:humor, 902 words)
Author: Godspenman	Added: Dec 22 2012	Views/Reads: 2477/1767	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
For the last several hours, I have been slouching in my easy chair basking in the soothing aura of the season. I have not moved in several hours, and it probably will be several more hours before I even think of moving.

For the last several hours, I have been slouching in my easy chair
basking in the soothing aura of the season. I have not moved in several 
hours, and it probably will be several more hours before I even think 
of moving. 

Just a few days ago, we were in the middle of our Christmas holiday
celebration with family and friends. The only thing I enjoy more is the 
peace and quiet that follows upon the heels of all that festivity. Do 
not get me wrong, I love my family and friends but boy do I love peace 
and quiet. 

Isn't one of the sayings of the season, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward
men”? I am not sure of all the ramifications of that phrase, but I do 
enjoy the peace that comes following an exuberant time of celebration 
with family and friends. 

About this time, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came in and saw
me in the same position she saw me several hours previous. “Are you,” 
she said after staring at me for a few moments, “going to stay in that 
chair all day?” 

All I could do was smile graciously in her direction. 

Then she became concerned, and prodded me a little, “Are you all right?”
She said it with a deep sense of genuine concern. I knew I owed her an 
explanation for the collapse of my bodily activities. 

“Nothing wrong with me,” I explained, “I'm just broke.” With that, I
smiled a rather infectious smile. 

She broke out laughing and said, “What did you say?” 

I think at the time she thought I was just exercising the spirit of
merriment. “I said, I'm broke.” 

Then she had a look of concern on her face. “What do you mean you're
broke?” 

I knew she was concerned at that point and I had to explain to her what
I meant by being broke. By being broke, I do not mean like the 
government broke into my bank account and confiscated my money. For all 
Americans that is quite a taxing situation. 

Also, by being broke I do not mean I dropped my wife's favorite
porcelain teapot and broke it all over the floor. Once something is 
broke, there just is no way of fixing it. 

“I'm broke,” I repeated to my wife with a whimsical smile, “and it's a
real good feeling this time of the year.” 

She looked at me, shook her head and then went back to her business. 

I thought some more on that subject and reaffirmed my idea that being
broke this time of the year was a marvelous feeling. If it were April, 
tax time, being broke would not feel so good. Or, if it were before 
Christmas, being broke would not be a very good idea. 

Being broke after Christmas means several things. 

First, it means that I did my best to bless my family and friends around
me with tokens of appreciation. That is all a gift really is. I am not 
a very good gift buyer, just ask my wife. I am the kind of person who 
thinks it is the thought that counts. I also know, behind every thought 
must be some emblem of tangibility. I have done my best this year to 
select gifts that would be appreciated, at least for a moment. 

It would be a terrible thing at the end of the Christmas season to have
a ton of money left over realizing that maybe you did not do your best 
this year at Christmas time. 

Do not get me wrong. I am a Pennsylvania Dutchman through and through
and we do not believe in wasting money. We do believe in investing our 
resources in family and friends. I am not extravagant in my giving. I 
do not have it to be extravagant. What I do have, I want to use to 
bless and encourage the people that have meant so much to me during the 


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