The Nephew's Mite

Admittedly, my last post ended on a bit of a downer. But that's not to say the weekend was a total washout. For, no sooner had I finished my last post when I reached into one of my pockets and found: a treasure that was a crumpled-up dollar bill. And suddenly my perspective changed altogether.

I couldn't believe that, in my frustrations about my car, I had completely forgotten all about it and what it represented.

At the aforementioned family get-together, it was also a birthday party for all of those in the family with October birthdays, myself included. Two of my siblings and their families had each given me a copy of my favorite film of 2014, The LEGO Movie, on DVD.

Great minds think alike and all that.

My six-year-old nephew had, just before gift-giving time, collected a $1 bill from Grandpa for scoring a goal in Saturday's soccer game, which is a deal Grandpa has worked out with all of his grandkids. Some of them really take him to the cleaners on it, but the deal goes on nonetheless.

Back to gift-giving time: This same nephew gave me, as a gift, the same $1 bill that Grandpa had given him for scoring a goal. Now, a buck is not a whole lot of dough to us big kids, but to a six-year-old boy, well, it was all that he had.

It was a very humbling moment, and I was grateful for the gesture. Six-year-old nephew is like that. He'd shave your back for a nickel. He's my buddy.

In retrospect, it has made me think of the scripture in St. Mark 12:41-44:

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

Six-year-old nephew has a heart and soul that big. I'm lucky to be his uncle and also his friend.

Angry White Anniversary

As of today, the Angry White Loner is a year old.

Angry White Loner the blog, that is. Not the AWL himself.

Beginning with this unforgettable first post on February 18, 2013, the Angry White Loner began to blog and to change everyone's lives for the better, one groundbreaking post at a time. The rest, as they say, has been history.

Feel free to party along with me out there in cyberspace. Or whatever you do to celebrate an anniversary of a blog. Your guess is as good as mine.

We'll play some Twister, we'll do some breakdancing. You know, the stuff that you do to party.

You are even welcome to bring me a plate of brownies. You may think I'm kidding when I write stuff like that, but I'm really not. At least, a devoted reader picked up on this and actually brought me a plate of brownies a couple of weeks back. Thanks again, devoted reader.

What will the next year bring for the Angry White Loner? And for angry loners in general?

Stay tuned.