If Christmas spirit is coming over you more slowly this year, despair not, you are not alone. Santa and the Elves are wearing COVID-19 safety masks in the workshop again this December.
Bill Graham
The holiday lights are twinkling in places like Parkville, Platte Woods, Zona Rosa, and the subdivisions lining Barry Road. But somehow, the joy is a tad dimmer than usual.
Thoughtful people in Platte County are like many folks all over the USA. They are weary of public policy making in the halls of governance that seems like a never-ending desperate struggle, rather than common sense decision making.
In the courthouse, statehouse, and Congress, the current social civil war carried out on a front line called politics is exhausting.
Try to catch your breath and a series of horrendous tornadoes in Kentucky takes it away. Looking at video of the wrecked courthouse in Mayfield, Ky., I couldn’t help but think how our own courthouse in Platte City sits atop a hill, open to the winds. Hurricanes we watch from afar.
With tornadoes, we know it could have been us. It was us on Dec. 15 when a violent storm line moved through knocking trees down, power out, and closing KCI for a time.
Platte County is in a highly advantageous economic position compared to many Missouri counties. Still, many of us skate on financially thin ice. That makes the hot winds of inflation, climate change, and pandemics a bit more threatening.
So how do we get our Ho Ho Ho back?
For starters, we can watch for or create kindness. A family-owned business store clerk wished me Merry Christmas on a down day, and I could tell by the twinkle in her eyes that she really meant it. The day brightened.
On another day, I watched busy U.S. Post Office clerks going out of their way to help a woman mailing Christmas food treats to her family. No grumps, smiles instead.
It’s heartening to notice that in difficult times many people are making efforts to boost others. The more we help others, the more Christmas like it seems. Giving to charity at this time of year is cliché, old hat, musty as Ebenezer Scrooge. But it’s true that there are people in need, a type of need that hurts the heart, mind, and body. If you can give to some local charity or church effort, your spirit meter will rise.
Being inside all the time can make the world seem small and stale, especially if you have a television on all the time. Grab a coat, wrap a scarf, slip on gloves and go for a walk outside in the cool air.
Platte County is blessed with parks, trails, wildlife areas, and towns with walkable sidewalks. You might be surprised at finding delightful sights around the next block, or just how good it feels to be under open sky in winter.
Bright lights on houses and an inflatable Santa do remind us that it’s the holidays. But if you want a big dose of wonder, step out in the back yard and look up at the stars. Try to count them. For a full view drive out into the northern part of the county, away from Kansas City lights, pull off on a quiet gravel road on a clear night and look up. What a show.
From here on, the days will start getting longer. Winter is officially here but that means spring is next. A Christmas Eve and Day are hours away. Happy moments are at hand.
May faith and hope somehow bless people with heavy hearts. Watch for one near you, be Christmas spirit in word and deed.
Bill Graham is a long-time commentator on Platte County and its history. He lives in the Platte City area and can be reached at editor@plattecountycitizen.com.