Good deeds put us in Christmas spirit
It was Christmas Eve afternoon, and panic was overtaking me. My pumpkin pie had failed, and what’s Christmas dinner without pumpkin pie? Off to the Kroger’s on Moreland Avenue I go. Pick up a pie from the bakery (along with a few other items; after all, I was already there) and get it line. Did I mention that everyone and his brother (or sister) seemed to be at the Moreland Avenue Kroger’s?
The cashier rings up my order — $13 and some change. I hand her a $20 bill. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a woman appeared next to me and told me to take my money back. “I’m going to pay for this,” she announced. Flabbergasted, all I could think to say was “Why?” She just smiled and said, “Merry Christmas.” After paying for my order, she returned to the front of the store and watched over the shoppers, looking for another stranger for whom she would make the day brighter.
I left Kroger’s remembering something long forgotten. Christmas is not about things, or pumpkin pie; it’s about giving and sharing. This woman gave of her time and her money to spread some Christmas cheer. She was the embodiment of the Christmas spirit.
JOANNE SMALLEY, ATLANTA
How we’d handle an offensive movie
A reader says, “We should always ask, ‘How would we react if North Korea or any other country showed the assassination of our president in a movie?’” (“Stupid movie put us at risk — for what?” Opinion, Dec. 26). We would react by using our freedom of speech to deplore it. What we would not do is launch a cyberterror attack on the company that made the film or try to prevent anyone else from exercising their right to freedom of speech. And if you think this film is offensive, you should see the Kim family dynasty’s slave labor camps.
JEFFREY SOKOLOW, ATLANTA
Columnist’s scary support of torture
Charles Krauthammer said that when there is a threat of attack, it’s OK to protect the nation “by whatever means meet and fit the threat” (“Clumsy, cruel, at times wrong, CIA kept us safe,” Opinion, Dec. 13). It is shameful that someone unlike myself, who devoted 20 years to the Navy Reserve, would condone the use of torture. Please tell me if Dr. Krauthammer is continuing to practice psychiatry after revealing his preference for torture. He also failed to tell the reader the House of Representatives was controlled by the Republican majority.
WILLIAM SHAUGHNESSY, PEACHTREE CORNERS
