the aura of a life well lived

It is my blog, so I can break the rules if I want to.

I'm determined to not turn this blog into anything other than a venue for my observations about life as I walk through it. That means I don't want to make a habit out of simply posting one-liners with links to news stories or anything else. There are enough of those out there, and that's not why I do this.

However, there are two stories here I'd like to flog on my blog. The first one is about Secret Santa (pictured above). Allow me to point out a few things this story highlights: 1) The spirit of Christmas; 2) The duty of man to his neighbor, 3) The truth about Capitalism and prosperity. Apparently this hard working, wealthy white male was absent the day they taught about oppressive white capitalists in Social Studies class.

Speaking of Capitalism and Prosperity, the second story is my humble attempt to honor the man who put forth in the marketplace of ideas the indissoluble link between free markets and free minds and bodies, the great thinker and a great American, the late Milton Friedman (and his beloved better half, Rose).

May I call your attention to the merry light that shines in the eyes of the wholehearted living life well?

History and common sense verify that, had Mr. Friedman's ideological opponents prevailed in that marketplace of ideas, Secret Santa would probably not have had any $100 bills to pass out to the needy in the middle of winter...winter without Christmas, as C.S. Lewis might have said.