Are we blessed this Christmas?

[pointrider]

This post is about food. Food for thought, and maybe for action, too.

All we have to do is look around at all the obese people in this country to know that we have plenty to eat. Not only this Christmas season, but at all times. Maybe we don't choose the right mix of foods to optimize our health, but all we have to do is go into a supercenter or a supermarket to know that food is plentiful in America. It has been said that the biggest shock to some people such as Eastern Europeans from poor countries who are visiting here for the first time is the volume and variety of foods on store shelves at all times. Some have been known to cry at the sight.

I hope we will remember the hungry people in the world this Christmas as we sit down to our Christmas dinners. Many are desperate. A new book by Faith D'Aluisio, Hungry Planet, tells about the huge gap between the haves and the have nots. For example, Darfur is on the bottom with a weekly grocery expenditure of $1.23 for a family. This gets them a diet of congealed porridge and soup, three times a day, seven days a week. German families spend the most. An average of $494.19 per week for a selection that includes breads, fresh produce, meat, beer, milk and pizza.

Are we concerned enough about our "neighbors?" 38,000 people have already paid a deposit for a seat on one of Virgin Galactic's rides for tourists into space from a new spaceport that is now planned for New Mexico. $225 million will be spent to build the spaceport, and the plan is for flights to begin in late 2008 or early 2009. How much does a ticket cost? $200,000 for one ride. A core group of 100 founders have already paid the full amount for a total of $20 million.

There is tremendous opportunity in the world for man to show some compassion. At the very least we should remember those who don't have much and pray that we can find a way to help them. If we are sincere we will be provided a way. Are our hearts in space, or are they here on earth? Yes, the space program has resulted in many good things for mankind, and we can do both. The answer is to look for noble ways to use money and knowledge to help all people, the haves and the have nots.

Merry Christmas!

[Been There]

There are a lot of poor people. There are also a lot of people with way too much money.

[Steve]