Opinions

Fun fact: I’m the girl who turns on Christmas music way before Thanksgiving. For me however, it’s not about the season as much as what it produces. I literally smile from ear to ear listening to it. So much so, that I recently put in my earphones and did my entire two hours of grocery shopping listening to the sounds of Christmas–all the while, smiling on the inside, smiling at others in the store, and basically feeling very comforted and peaceful by my simple choice of music.

To many of us in rural America, the world just seems upside down lately. The sense of ill-ease is almost palatable and what is worse is there seems to be nothing we can do about it.

With over 200 runners/walkers, and several canines sporting Christmas lights, the 2nd Annual Jingle Bell Run was, once again, an overwhelming success. According to Amanda Reames, coordinator of the event, "I had almost 230 people who signed up, almost 100 more than last year, which is amazing."

Most of us remember the lengths that the Obama Administration went to to sell us on the notion of a health care plan that would benefit all -- after threatening to strip millions of their existing insurance, raising premiums and deductibles to astronomical heights, ending some doctorpatient relationships, and penalizing those who simply wished to opt out of insurance altogether.