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Click the video above for a little background music while you read my final thought this month..

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Metro readers.

What a hectic, trying, but fun year 2022 was. It started out with the annual McCarty Metro Vegas trip. 11 people made the trek, including McCartys Steve, Kelly, Larry, Rick, Dennis, Austin, Brad, Chris, and friends, Joe, Robert and John. We had a great time out there. 

In February, Margaret and I took a road trip down to Tennessee, Florida, and South Carolina. Our visit with Larry and Gina was awesome. We attended the wedding of our friend in Florida, and visited Congaree National Park in South Carolina. 

In March was the annual McCarty brothers Florida Trip in March. I drove down again, and even picked up another retiree... Larry. I had a great time with my brothers, and enjoying the drive and warm weather. The only down side was when I got home, I fell at home and tore my rotator cuff.

While in Florida, my brother Rick challenged Larry (278 pounds) and myself (290 pounds) to lose weight using a method which helped him lose 30 pounds himself. We both took the challenge when we got home and starting in April we both started our weight loss journey. As of this writing, both Larry and myself have lost over 50 pounds each, and has maintained the weight for months (or even shedding a bit more).

I competed with my brother Steve in Gull Lake 38 in May. I cannot believe we have been doing this trip now for 38 years! Gull Lake 1 in 1985 was started by cops Rick, Leo, Doug, and a lowly JCPenney salesman, me. Although the golf swing with the rotator cuff was painful, we did have an awesome time catching up with old friends.

In June, Margaret and I once again hopped into the Chevy Trax for our drive out to Oregon to visit with Chris, Amanda, and family. It was a great trek. We saw a lot of National Parks and Roadside America on the way out and back. In between, we had a wonderful visit in Bend with the kids and grandkids. Alexa put on a wonderful performance in her dance recital. What a great 3 week trip.

In July, we headed up north for Margaret's, "Rzepka Family Reunion". We had a great time at the lake house in Cross Village, and had a lot of great side trips to Mackinac Island, the UP, Petosky, etc.

This past month, was a wedding to remember. Austin and Kristina became joined as one, and allowed me the honor of officiating the nuptials. I could talk more about it, but it is pretty well covered in this issue. I am a very proud and happy dad. Kristina is a great addition to the family.

I am looking forward to the memories of this Christmas and what's to come in 2023. 

I hope you all can take some time out during all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season to sincerely reflect on those you love, and give them a big hug and unconditional love. With shopping, cleaning, shoveling, and all that goes with the Christmas season, it is always important to make time for others. Whether family and friends, or even those in need just looking for that Christmas miracle, it is important to remember the true meaning of Christmas... God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

My final thought I leave you with is an inspiring Christmas story.
Enjoy!

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A SMALL CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

 

He was driving home one evening, on a two-lane country road. Work, in this small Midwest town, was almost as slow as his beat-up Pontiac, but he never quit looking. Ever since the factory closed, he'd been unemployed, and with winter raging on, the chill had finally hit home. It was a lonely road. Not many people had a reason to be on it, unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill, but he stayed on. After all, this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and knew the country. He could go down this road blind, and tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights not working, that came in handy. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He'd better get a move on.

You know, he almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help her for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill that only fear can put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Joe."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Joe crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire, but he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening the lug nuts, she rolled down her window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Joe just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Joe never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. There was someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Joe added "...think of me."

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road the lady saw a cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor - it didn't ring much.

Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.

After the lady had finished her meal, and the waitress went to get her change from a hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on a napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could she have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right; I love you, Joe."

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Here's to having a beautiful and blessed Christmas...


Before you go, feel free to leave me a comment on this issue of The McCarty Metro!

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