To the Editor,
At year’s end we typically “measure up.”
We bring 12-foot-tall trees into homes. We surround the trees with brightly wrapped boxes whose contents are sized up by waist, chest, length or carats. We glow in the wonder of our 3-, 4- and 5-foot-high offspring, counting down days and adding up lists.
We tally totals of income, taxes paid, expenditures and arrive at some numerical rest or distress. We pay the piper or anxiously await our pay back. We conduct ceremonies celebrating years of scholarly achievement. We conclude terms in office. We number years in unions and mourn periods loss.
We are a society of quantity. We assign worth to purse. We presume intelligence to be tied to number of years of persistence. We know exactly the number of lights wrapped around those evergreens that we annually place inside our homes in front of windows.
Is it important also to be a society of quality? Three score and 10 years, while it isn’t s lot of time, can actually transcend time. Wealth and property accumulated over this time can be pilfered and plundered. The bounty that transcends time are the intangibles that we improve upon or create for future generations.
When we instill integrity, generosity, responsibility, commitment, faith, hope, courtesy, respect, freedom, valor, pride in self and pride in place, we have given lifetime warranty gifts (batteries included).
Our munchkins and loved ones may only enjoy what comes in the boxes or garages for an instant during three score and 10. The lifetime warranty gifts above, however, are every day extraordinary tools for individuals and societies. Merry Christmas!
Eric R. Locklear
Fayetteville