“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13
The whole point
My Christmas sequel
From the first chapter of Ebenezer: A sequel of sorts to A Christmas Carol …
He passed a cheerful mother with her child ringing bells at a little kettle.
“Merry Christmas,” cried the sweet little girl as she pumped her hand and the bell jangled and jangled.
“Meh,” said Edmund Filliput, but the girl only smiled and jangled the bell all the more.
A young man with a little book was speaking loudly as the crowd passed, and Edmund’s eyes narrowed as he saw that it was a storefront church.
“I bring tidings of great joy,” the man read from his little book. “Today in Bethlehem a child is born.” But Edmund swept past with the rest of the multitude.
Snow suddenly began to fall in great quantities, and the Good Old City was filled with a swirling as if encased in a glass globe.
“Just what I need now,” Edmund said bitterly, and he nearly bumped into a man wearing, of all things, a top hat. He had the presence of mind to say “Excuse me” to the man, who had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to look up at the falling snow.
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, my good sir,” said the man in the top hat, and Edmund saw a beatific smile on the man’s face. “Isn’t this wonderful? Just in time for the merriest of Christmases.”
“Meh,” said Edmund Filliput, but he stopped long enough to stare at the jolly man, who met his eyes and laughed a great laugh.
“No, sir, I have not taken leave of my senses,” said the man. “I just love to see snow on Christmas Eve.”
“It’s just frozen rain,” Edmund muttered. “We’ll all catch our death.”
At this a great peal of laughter came from the happy stranger, who clapped Edmund on the shoulder.
“You are absolutely correct, sir, it is quite cold,” he said. “Come, let’s have a cup of tea — or are you a coffee man? There’s a shop right here.”
Edmund had not noticed they were standing in front of a great window, where they could see tables arranged inside, a counter with stools, and a few people scattered here and there about the room. He had to admit to himself that consuming something warm would be more pleasant than walking in the cold.
“I must be insane, but sure,” he told the man.
– – – – –
Hard to believe Ebenezer is now three years old. I hope it’s part of your Christmas by now, but if not, your local independent bookstore can order it for you — ask for ISBN 979-8-9863331-6-8. Your favorite online bookstore has it, too, but the local store is friendlier, don’t you think?
Pay With Cash
Listen to the song:
The best advice I’ve ever given myself was to stay out of debt. “Self, always remember: The borrower is slave to the lender,” I told myself. But the lender’s siren call is awfully hard to resist: “Just buy this one thing on credit, and then when it’s paid off, you’ll have everything you need.” That’s the foot in the door, and the next thing you know, debt service is a routine part of your monthly budget.
I thought I’d learned my lesson back in the mid-1980s. I dug myself a hole so deep that bankruptcy court seemed like the only option, and after that humiliating experience I pledged, “Never again,” and I wrote myself a little blues tune called “Pay With Cash” to remind myself.
It’s still the best advice I ever gave myself, and I sure wish I would listen to me. At least I got a nifty little tune out of it.
Save your money; pay with cash.
Put your plastic in the trash.
Take no credit; pay your dues.
Earn your interest; it’s yours to choose.
The loan man’s going to smile as he bites you with the lash.
Save your money; pay with cash.
You can have it here today;
You can have it, but you’re going to pay.
You can have it; it ain’t yours —
Till you pay them, it’s the store’s.
Till you pay them with your cash, you can’t have it your way.
Save your money; pay with cash.
There used to be a dreamer, never struck me as poor,
He said, “Boy, there ain’t no dream that ain’t worth working for.
You let them drop it in your lap, it won’t taste half as sweet.
You want to get from here to there, boy, use your feet.”
And save your money; pay with cash.
Put your plastic in the trash.
Take no credit; pay your dues.
Earn your interest; it’s yours to choose.
The loan man’s going to smile as he bites you with the lash.
Save your money; pay with cash.
The loan man’s got a whip, he’s going to bite you with the lash.
Save your money; pay with cash.
“Pay With Cash,” © 1986 w.p. bluhm. All rights reserved.