I am offended....

Babies are offensive:

I am not a big fan of babies. I don’t mind admitting it. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. I liked my own children when they were babies. Occasionally I see cute babies that other people have but I guess I am missing the “love babies” gene. It’s more of a preference and it may have something to do with my age. I no longer have the patients I did when I was younger. Call me crazy but I never cared for poopy diapers or baby vomit or pee in my face. I do however like the Baby Jesus.

Firemen are courageous:

Each year, for as long as I can remember I look forward to seeing those Manger Scenes around town. Lots of people have them in their front yards and some even contained live characters. Then there were the ones at Fire Stations. Those were always the best. My father was a fireman and he actually used to set up the Manger Scene where he worked. Firemen are a special breed of people and my hat is off to them for their sacrifice and courage. Even though I was trained to fight fires when I was in the Navy I always wondered if I had the courage to enter a real burning building. In addition to courage and trust, it takes a great amount of faith.

Firemen have to rely on their fellow firefighters to back them up and to always be there for them. I remember when I would go through firefighting training I would have to go into a building that was on fire and the only thing keeping me from catching fire myself was the person behind me keeping me cool. If he became afraid and left, I would die. It is as simple as that. But I had faith in my fellow Navy men just as I have faith in my God. I know he will be there no matter what happens and that he won’t give up on me even though I don’t always feel worthy of that love.
During this time of year, firemen are particularly busy because of all the careless things that people do with heaters, lights and trees. So when firemen want to put up a Nativity Scene in front of their station I am all for it. They have a right to express themselves and since they spend long hours at the station, whatever makes them happy makes me happy. Obviously not everyone shares my feelings.

People are crazy:

For the past 5 years, Larry Carter Center has complained about the Nativity Scene at the fire station near his house. He said it is a violation of the Constitution and that it needs to be brought down. He went on to say that he is a Veteran which makes him a patriot and that he just wants to see the Constitution upheld. He didn’t say that the scene bothered him, he said that it infringed on the rights of others. Then he contacted some anti religion group up in Wisconsin and they protested and the Nativity Scene was taken down. Well I did a little investigation and this is what I found.

Larry is an outspoken atheist. He has been protesting against expression of religion even before he served in the military. And speaking of that, he didn’t go in because he was a patriot. He was drafted in 1971 and got out two years later after his two year tour in Vietnam. I am sure he protested against the war too. (Hardly a patriot and barely a Veteran.) He is a big advocate for atheism and frequents many internet pages where he tries to recruit others into not believing. He keeps his address private so that no one can find him but I do know that he isn’t from Charleston. He is from Iowa which is where I wish he would go. Isn’t it amazing how people move into an area and then try to change the things that are there? If I could only get his address; I want to send him a Christmas Card. Here is a photo of Larry:



The latest update is that the fire station was able to put the manger scene back up as long as they included other religions. So now there is also a Menorah and the Kwanza candle and Oh yes, a Santa too. But Larry still isn’t happy and is trying to get a lawyer to sue the city for him. I am sure some lawyer will take the case.

Merry Christmas Bloggers,
Greg