Paying It Forward at Christmas and Always, One Act of Kindness at a Time
December 21, 2012
By John W. Whitehead
“‘There are many things from which I might have derived good, by
which I have not profited, I dare say,’ returned the nephew. ‘Christmas
among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time,
when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name
and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good
time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I
know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by
one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people
below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and
not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore,
uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I
believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God
bless it!’”—Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
~
Although Charles Dickens immortalized the money-loving,
Christmas-hating, bah-humbuggiest of humbugs Ebenezer Scrooge in his
classic
A Christmas Carol, the world has always been plagued by
Scrooges and Grinches so single-minded in their pursuit of money, power
and control that they exhibit few qualms about stamping out acts of
kindness, compassion and true charity when they arise.
This year has certainly been plagued with its fair share of Scrooges
and Grinches disguised as government agents, threatening individuals
with fines and arrest for such simple acts of kindness and charity as
distributing free bottled water to the thirsty, giving away free food to
the hungry and destitute, and making thermal shelters available to
house the homeless during cold winter nights.
The latest Scrooge to dampen the goodwill that this time of year tends
to bring out in many people comes from Waynesboro, Virginia, where
zoning officials have gone out of their way to shut down a Christmas
tree farmer’s big-hearted efforts to raise money to buy wigs for cancer
patients by giving away his Christmas trees in exchange for donations.
For Christian Critzer, a Christmas tree farmer who lives with his wife
and two children in Waynesboro, the Christmas tree donation drive was
his way of paying it forward: a way to show his gratitude for his wife
having recently won a battle with breast cancer and inspire hope in
those still fighting their own battles and dealing with the aftermath of
cancer.
Using what he knows best—Christmas trees—Critzer focused his efforts on
raising money for the “Fight Like a Girl” campaign at the
Charlottesville, Va.-based Martha Jefferson hospital, a fund for cancer
survivors to buy custom wigs as they recover from their long battles
with cancer and chemotherapy. The donations are specifically intended to
subsidize the purchase of people buying custom wigs while dealing with
cancer treatment. As Critzer learned through his wife’s own battle with
cancer from this time last year, wigs—often a necessity for women who’ve
lost their hair because of chemotherapy treatments—aren’t covered by
insurance.
Using his front yard on a busy street as the staging ground, Critzer
attempted to first sell the trees, with the hopes of giving the proceeds
to the cancer fund. That all changed when Waynesboro zoning officials
threatened Critzer with a citation for operating a commercial enterprise
in a residentially zoned area. Determined to do his good deed, Critzer
decided to give the trees away, asking a donation in return. “People are
hurting,” said Critzer. “A free tree is a blessing. So we decided we’ll
offer them for free. If people can afford a donation, that’s what we’ll
give to the cancer center, and problem solved.” Unfortunately for the
Christmas tree farmer, Waynesboro zoning officials didn’t agree and
cited him for violating the city’s zoning ordinances.
The Critzers live on Rosser Avenue, one of the busiest roads in
Waynesboro, adjacent to big box stores like Walmart and Martins.
According to Critzer, the big Martins sign shines its light through his
window 24 hours a day, so it’s not as if his Christmas tree drive is
bringing an unusual amount of traffic to the area. Nor does his little
“tree lot” seem to be overly distracting. Around this time of year, lots
of people tend to go all out, decking their houses and populating their
front lawns with so many lights, holiday figurines and blow-ups as to
start their own Christmas spectacular. In comparison, Critzer’s front
lawn is almost stark, with little more than a string of lights, a small
assortment of Christmas trees and a simple sign encouraging donations in
exchange for the trees.
Despite Critzer’s various attempts to find a solution that would allow
him to keep the tree drive going, Waynesboro officials were adamant that
he should shut it down, going so far as to threaten his landlord with
fines and issuing a cease and desist order against Critzer. Not wanting
to cause his landlord hardship, and not wanting to be a burden to his
wife and two children, Christian took down the trees, the lights and the
signs. His goal of raising $1000 for the cancer fund remains unrealized
and his hopes of paying it forward have been dashed. At least for this
year, unless The Rutherford Institute, which has come to Critzer’s
defense, can work their own Christmas miracle. Either way and to his
credit, Critzer insists that next year, he’ll be back with 100 Christmas
trees.
So what’s the lesson to be learned here? Is it that no good deed goes
unpunished? Certainly, in an age of bureaucracy and overcriminalization,
it can seem that way. Is the problem, as Critzer suggests, that the
government needs to revisit its priorities and focus on solving the real
problems plaguing communities rather than creating problems where there
are none? There’s definitely something to be said for that. “There’s a
lot going on in this town that needs attention,” said Critzer. “I don’t
think it’s my cancer charity.”
Then there’s Charles Dickens’ reminder, offered up in
A Christmas Carol,
that it’s never too late to make things right in the world and try to
be better people and, most importantly of all, pay your blessings
forward. Whether you do it, as Critzer did, by raising money for a
charity, or as Scrooge did it, by repenting of his greed, selfishness
and bah humbuggery and looking out for those in need, the point, my
friends, is to do it now before it’s too late, not just at
Christmastime, but always. As Dickens writes, “And it was always said of
him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive
possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!
And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”
WC: 1136
This commentary is also
available at www.rutherford.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment