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Good morning!
Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Pretenders… In these frozen and silent nights Isabel’s plea worked yesterday afternoon. We raised about $4,000 after she pointed out to folks that we’d only raised $700 all day. But we still have a very long way to go. Please, click here to chip in whatever you can so we can help by Christmas presents for more than 2.500 foster kids. Thanks! * This is an open thread.
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- SLM - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 7:58 am:
OMG this is so MTV…I wonder if it was as painful for Chrissi (that bad ass) as it looked on her face. But I love her and that band still. Thx R and Isabel
- Leatherneck - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 9:39 am:
Every time I drive to and from work in my little 15-plus year old car that I plan to keep running until the wheels fall off, and also have to park at any of the Springfield Clinic buildings–and seeing so many large trucks and SUVs on the road–I keep reminding myself that I sure wish we could actually take a page from Missouri and impose a personal property tax on vehicles. And something that would count any consumer debt that you have as taxable income (I have been debt free for years). In addition to trying again on the Fair Tax.
- Leatherneck - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 10:08 am:
Also, anyone else also getting a rampant, nonstop number of Spam Phone Calls in recent weeks? Even if you are on the Do Not Call list (which has long since been circumvented by spammers to the point that it is useless). I’ve blocked and not answered so many unrecognizable numbers (who don’t leave a voicemail so that’s a sign they are not legit) but I’m still getting innundated. Anyone else getting slammed with spam lately?
- stateandlake - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 11:07 am:
Leatherneck - I am having the same problem. Few leave voicemails, and when they do, it is about some technical nonsense that I have to resolve in order to have my business properly listed on Google.
- Behind the Scenes - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 11:37 am:
@ Leatherneck: Phone calls - daily. They show up on my caller ID as “Out of Area”, “Suspected Spam”, “Wireless Caller”, and one brutally honest one, “Fraud”. A problem with that is when you are awaiting a call from a company or service person and they haven’t put their name on their phone number, so you miss their call.
Re: your observation on large trucks & SUVs, I drive an Explorer… Not large, but taller than a Corvette. Anyway, those large trucks and SUVs with the “thermonuclear” headlights still blind me when driving at night. The ones with their “brights” on as well make me look away or close my eyes briefly.
- Dotnonymous x - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 2:59 pm:
Chrissie Hynde has aged like the finest of wines.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Dec 5, 25 @ 3:39 pm:
I have multiple Christmas Playlists, this is track 4 (of 101) of my modern Christmas carols.
The video does not do the song justice.
Another one of my modern favorites is “On This Christmas Day” by The Moody Blues.
I don’t know if a particular picture inspired John Lodge, but I think “On This Christmas Day” really captures the spirit of Rich’s annual fundraising efforts for LSSI:
I saw your picture in the paper
I didn’t know your name
But the pain was there for all to see
As the snow turned to rain
I saw your picture didn’t know what to do
A lonely face in the crowd
In that moment when the world stood still
And tears lay on the ground
Wherever I go, I will think of you
Whatever I do, whatever I say on this Christmas Day
Most of us never see the faces of foster kids because of privacy laws, but if you do, I swear you will never unsee them. Time passes different when we are kids. So try to remember, if you can, what those early Christmas’s were like for you. Then try to imagine not one, but two or three or four Christmases not rushing to your family tree, but in the home of strangers. And then every day in between those Christmases too, wondering when or if you will be reunited with your parents or find a forever home.
Brutal, right?
Believe it or not, one Christmas present can shatter that darkness. And even if that joy only lasts a moment or an hour or a day, it is a moment that child can go back to in their minds. Christmas is not just about Hope, but a Hope fullfilled.
Thanks to all who have given so far. And thanks especially to all of the child welfare workers not just at LSSI but all of the private agencies and DCFS. You see the faces every day, when most people turn away, and we owe you a deep debt of gratitude.
Happy Christmas,
YDD