It's get that gift time

Gifts, whether they be for a birthday, anniversary or Christmas, usually mean much more to the giver than to the receiver.

As the retailers tell us that time is running out to purchase our gifts, you know their ploy, "it's so-and-so many shopping days to Christmas" (aren't ALL days shopping days now?), together with the constant advertising in the media, I guess the usual panic of, "what are we going to get Uncle Jim", or "can you remember what Aunt Mable got us last year?"

I always enjoy the surprises I received from our family in Norfolk, England. Sarah always plans early and enjoys choosing original gifts, quite a few of which have travelled with us to North Carolina, via Spain! In fact already today I have used two gifts received from them in previous years.

Stuart, a typical man, leaves everything to Leslie. She is okay with that(?) as she, too enjoys surprises and takes immense pleasure in choosing gifts. I am, I suppose, a big let down for her expertise in this area as I am a simple man who enjoys simple things, and am happy for them to buy me magazine subscriptions. By this I have a surprise gift every month when our mail-man (oops!, I mean letter-carrier) delivers a copy of a favorite magazine.

Have we done our gift shopping yet? Oh, yes, gift-wrapped, packaged and shipped. Well, almost. Gail, together with a team from our church, will shortly be shopping for Christmas "boxes" for some of our homeless friends and my goodness, is she excited about that? You bet!

Social networking

I wish to offend no one. If this post does that I apologize in advance. You have been warned.

What is the point of "social networking"? Last evening a friend and I were enjoying real social networking - that is talking to each over the phone. Not texting, twittering or facebooking, but actually talking and enjoying our real conversation.

To be fair, I know millions enjoy making their innermost thoughts known to the world and his/her dog, and good for them. I have tried it, thinking it would be a tool for keeping in touch with family and friends worldwide. When I first announced that I was to deactivate my account because of the time spent reading how others (not all) were using theirs, several said how sorry they were to lose me. Lose me? Hello? I'm not a complete dinosaur. I use e-mail, can actually still write with a pen, punch numbers on a phone and I have to assume, they can too?

If, because I deactivate one of these accounts, I am losing "friends", I feel there is something sadly wrong with the human race.

Am I being hypocritical? Of course. After all I do post to this, and enjoy reading a few of the many accessible blogs, so I have related personal views on others.

You do your social networking in your laptop, iPad or iPhone and I'll do mine by sharing a meal with friends, having them come over, enjoying an event with them and if distance makes that impossible, by calling them, wherever they are located, and actually talking with them. Of course that works two ways and I would love to share a hug and a meal with those of my family who live thousands of miles away.

Okay, I'm now donning the flak-jacket!