Happy birthday
We all, ready or not, have birthdays, some with exaggerated celebrations, and others celebrated by enjoying simple, reflective moments. Perhaps most celebrants would at least like to have their arrival day noticed maybe with a card or call; others would consider that an abysmal celebration, for them the order of the day: Let the good times roll! But I heard of a birthday boy who celebrated his entrance day in a somewhat unusual way by giving instead of getting.
The storm had brought needed rain and a cool night but also sharp lightning and frightening thunder. The midnight thunder was only a dull annoyance to her, but the bolt of lightning was more immediate and personal.
This act of Nature found it wayward path to her kitchen, more specifically to her innocent television set, now mortally wounded.
It was instantly obvious that something was not right because the crashing noise awaken her, now frightened. More problems came about: she depended on the antenna fed television set for all her news and entertainment since she was legally blind and unable to read and slightly hard of hearing; living alone meant she was now without TV, basically cut off from the outside world. It was a problem for this ninth decade survivor.
The birthday gift now enters the picture. The honoree was not opposed to related celebrations; still he felt that at his age, such celebrations were best reserved for the young especially children. He had wrestled with the idea of ignoring the big day but after talking with this longtime friend, living alone, he came up with the idea of celebrating his own birthday with a twist by giving a needed gift to his friend in need, a television set to replace the one explicably lost.
For him it was not an extravagant gift but to his living alone neighbor, replacing the set would have serious budgetary implications to one living on a fixed income, one living in her own home, paying all the necessary expenses for daily living.
So for a few dollars, the audio world is once again being enjoyed by a grateful listener thanks to a birthday that went ‘uncelebrated’ but in a sense one of the most rewarding for the one who had a unique opportunity to make not one but two people happy. It took several people to bring this about.
Acts 20:35 – “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
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Bill Lee, PO Box 128,
Hamer, SC 29547
