Holiday Festivals, Santa Parades, and Giving Thanks...

We continue to explore and enjoy the plentiful nooks and crannies of the Tenth Judicial Circuit. Holiday celebrations and Santa parades have taken us throughout all five counties. Campaigning, although tiring, offers many opportunities to meet amazing people.

In these days of plenty, many children (and adults) never grasp the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Of course, we go through the motions. "Thank you for our food, our family, our home and our dog, Fluffy", we say. However, few of us realize what it is like to truly be hungry or cold.

For these reasons, it was fitting and appropriate that over the Thanksgiving holiday we had a wonderful opportunity to visit our most cherished campaign supporter in Putnam County, Alma Toedter. Alma has quite a story to tell and we asked her to share it with our children. She also gave us permission to share some of it here.

Alma was born in Renno, Italy, in 1938. During World War II, her parents were in a work camp and she was cared for by relatives. They lived in a barn that had been bombed and was only half standing. She slept on the ground between 2 bales of straw for warmth. Alma told our children that she went to bed hungry and woke up hungry. To survive, they hunted for chestnuts and dandelion roots. Alma showed our kids scars on her arms and legs - scars that resulted from gunshot wounds she suffered as a little girl as she foraged for food. Alma remembers walking for miles on Christmas Day to her Aunt's house, in the winter, with no shoes and only a light jacket. It was worth it, says Alma, because the reward would be a little Christmas gift bag from her Aunt. In it, she would find an apple, some nuts, and a small piece of chocolate that she would cherish for weeks.

Eventually her parents returned home, and through the grace of God they were able to emigrate to the United States and build a better life. Now happily retired from a successful small business, Alma smiles as she tells her story. There is not a hint of bitterness, nor a morsel of regret. She speaks with grace and confidence, most likely born from the understanding that there are few obstacles life could throw her way that she could not overcome. The challenges she faced as a little girl molded her into the wonderful and wise human being she is today.

As a parent, if you look around, you will most likely be acquainted with a person like Alma. If you get the chance, ask that person to talk to your children. It will be an enlightening experience for everybody and will help us all understand the true meaning of "Giving thanks".