Appell Pie
December 2022
How do you say it?
I’ve been writing these columns in Today’s Restaurant News for twenty 26 years and around this time of year I always say the same thing but with different words and phrases. I have been racking my brain to come up with a new and exciting way to say Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year and to thank my friends and family for another great year of life on this planet.
Think about what we have been through in 2022, terrorist attacks, raging inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages mid-term election drama, war in the Ukraine, Russians bombing hospitals and schools, civilian protests in Iran, Russian soldiers and draftees fleeing their country, China threatening to attack Taiwan, and of course our border situation. Who knows who the good guys are anymore?
War used to be easy, the bad guys wore one uniform and the good guys had another. Spies would change uniforms to gather information and run back across the imaginary line to their own side. The biggest challenge they had was to change uniforms before they got close to the “line” or they would be shot at by their own side.
Our country is divided more now than in any other time in my lifetime. Remember the saying, “A house divided cannot stand” or more to the point “Divide and conquer.” There are people and countries trying to bring the United States down, but when push comes to shove Americans will close ranks and unite to maintain our freedom.
How do you say Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah when there are so many people who are not happy or merry because of these situations that are out of their control?
Remember when Jimmy Stewart would trudge through the snow to his home and Donna Reed would welcome him home with a table full of food in front of a roaring fireplace. Timmy was happy to see his Dad come home even if his Dad had no money to buy him a gift because he knew that his family’s love and well-being was the biggest gift he could get in a black and white world. (I’m sure I blended this scene from several Jimmy Stewart black and white films.) When did we lose this black and white scene to a full color world of hate, greed and jealousy?
How do you use the words merry or happy with people who are devastated about losing their homes or businesses in crazy storms? Can you be happy or merry about rising ocean levels or raging snow storms? Can you be happy that countries are at war with each another and battle over burnt land, injured and dead citizens, just to satisfy a crazed dictator?
How do you wish people a Merry Christmas and a Happy Chanukah? I guess you just go ahead and do it like it has been done for thousands of years. You just do it. Forget about the elections, forget about the economy, forget about your pain in the butt neighbor or relative and just get out there in person or on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and whatever means you have and thank someone for making your life better by being a part of it. That’s how I see the Holiday’s. I celebrate them all especially if food is involved.
Thank you all for 2022 and I look forward to a better 2023 and sharing many “Empty Plates” with many of you. (See my Facebook posts for full understanding of Empty Plates.) Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year.
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