Is donating an organ for Christmas appropriate?
Come, sit with me. It has been an exhausting week here in The Salott. I am putting it down to the mad run up to Christmas. Shoppers return home exhausted, sit down with a glass of mulled wine (recipe taken from many in The Kcina) and pop into the Salott.
Some have not, as yet, found the right present and ask the many there. This Christmas it is heartening to see that many wish to buy locally, and not online. Why not, I ask. Why not indeed? It is in giving that we receive, and if we pump our hard earned cash into the economy, then we will emerge as the winners. Those who buy online say that books and gadgets are costlier here in Malta, so perhaps the powers-that-be reading this might take heed.
Exhaustion, I imagine, is why tempers have frayed. But was it just Christmas shopping that started the parents so widely discussed at a shopping mall to scream and hurl abuse at their offspring? There were so, so many opinions bandied about, amongst the good advice. Some said ‘call the police’, others ‘scream for Security’. Filming the whole thing on your phone was another whilst Malcolm Tortell sadly said, ‘Do nothing.’ As he understands how the system works, his sadness is understandable. The question is WWSD? Yes, indeed: What Would Sallottians Do? Not scream blue murder at a child for starters.
And what if someone gets hurt and passes away? Are you an organ donor? If not, what are you waiting for? You can download the form from the comfort of your own home. Leave The Salott for a minute or two, and become an organ donor. When you leave this world, you won’t need them. Many others would benefit from the gift of your kidneys, heart, lungs, cornea….. Think of it as the Ultimate Gift - a gift that is not only for Christmas.
Another gift not only for Christmas is that of a pet. Puppies and kittens may be cute (I would never be without my Pointe Four) but are they actually a present? If the pet is for a child will Mummy be looking after it? Today’s woman has enough on her plate without looking after your pet. Worse, no one will be home with the little mite. How sad is that? Think twice, no thrice, before giving anyone a pet at Christmas. These are for life. If you do decide you want to have a family pet look no further. Rubs Puppy Love will put you in touch with many gorgeous four legged friends. Just tag Mark Thorogood. And while you are at it, don’t forget to congratulate him on being promoted to the Rubs’ Administration.
So, it’s over to you Father Christmas, deliverer of presents. Now before any of you say he does not exist, I can assure you he does. Ask Claire Warrington who was furious that he brought his carriage, lambasting loud music in her street, can attest to. She refers to it as a ‘hamalllata’. Some would agree. The ones who disagree are the Attach-A-Santa-Onto-The –Balcony brigade. Tastes differ but we have all waited for Santa at one time or another.
Children write letters to him, detailing what they want, adding that they have been very good all year. Parents leave out milk and cookies and set alarms to ensure they dispose of the snacks before the kiddies awake. Santa appears at shopping malls, in village streets and town squares. Does he come down chimneys? Not in Malta, where the shortage of chimneys is evident. But he does have helpers. These are the people we see throughout December. To quote the copy of a letter from parents to a child, posted by Fleur Marie Cilia Buckett: “Santa is love and magic, hope and happiness.”
To you all, near and far, in The Salott, and from all of us here at The Malta Independent on Sunday: Merry Christmas. We wish you all a Christmas filled with love, magic, hope and happiness.