Rest In Peace Nick Fleming

Dinar Recaps Note:  Thank you Salty Toes for letting us all know.  Prayers and condolences to all Nick’s family and friends….. May he rest in peace~ The Dinar Recaps Team

Dinar Recaps Note #2 : We also received this information from Desert Tigger and CK- NICK Flemings admin of well over 10 yrs.and who was his administrator of his telegram channels. Thank you very much to all of you for informing us all.

Sent by Salty Toes & Seeds of Wisdom Team

RE: Nick Fleming Obituary

Late last night I finally caught up with Nick's attorney, Mr John Kremer Esq. He gives me authority to inform you of the following.

It is with the heaviest of hearts I quote

"Nick Fleming passed away from pancreatic cancer at approx. 10:45 a.m., local Mountain time, on Sunday, February 5, 2023, at a hospice facility in El Paso.  He is survived by his son Bo, Bo’s wife, and their three daughters.

Nick had been hospitalized in El Paso since approx. December 12th or 13th 2022, after suffering a debilitating stroke immediately outside his New Mexico home."

Just the saddest news....RIP

Pictures Of Large Denomination Bills

Pictures Of Large Denomination Bills

Jennifer Bradley Franklin Tue, January 24, 2023

Pictures of big bills You Probably Won’t See Them In Circulation, But You Can See Them Here

Most of us hope for big balances in our checking and savings accounts, but when you withdraw funds, the biggest bill you’ll see is probably $100.

Once upon a time, though, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $100,000 bills were in circulation. After the last printing of those denominations in 1945, the Treasury Department and the Fed discontinued them in 1969.

The use of large bills has decreased dramatically, and they’ve been greater targets for counterfeits versus smaller denominations. They’re still legitimate legal tender but are in limited circulation, except for the $100,000 bill, which was only ever used in fiscal channels.

These days, most of these increasingly rare bills are owned by collectors. In fact, if you happen to have a mint-condition bill in a rare denomination, it could mean a big payoff. According to Old Money Prices, a paper currency collector, a $1,000 bill printed in 1928 with a gold seal could be worth over $20,000, if in uncirculated condition.

Here are some rare bills you might want to keep an eye out for.

Blue Series $500  Courtesy of US Treasury Department  $500 Series 1918 Blue Seal

Produced in 1918, $500 bill’s front bears the likeness of John Marshall, who served as the United States’ fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835. The reverse side of the bill depicts Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto discovering the Mississippi in 1541.

$500 Series bill  Courtesy of the US Treasury  $500 Series 1928 & 1934 Green Seal

These green seal notes ($500 bills with the green seal are often called Federal Reserve notes) bear the portrait of William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States. He served a full term and then only six months of his second term before being assassinated.

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pictures-big-bills-probably-won-180638185.html

The Ups and Downs of Money and Marriage

The Ups and Downs of Money and Marriage

By Billy B | Purpose

If you want to be happy and rich, don’t marry someone based on pretty looks, charming words, and fuzzy feelings of love. Instead, marry someone who has the same goals, dreams, and shares the same decision-making logic as you. If you can do this when choosing a partner, you’ll find you’ll be happier, less-frustrated, and if you’re both frugal along the way, you can become richer than you ever imagined.

I know, because this outcome happened to us. It’s true: The spouse you choose will have a massive impact on the amount of wealth and happiness you will be able to experience over your lifetime together.

Choose a spouse recklessly, and you may spend the next few decades in the same reoccurring arguments on what decisions are smart, and how you should spend your money.

But choose a spouse wisely, and you can spend the next few decades planning, executing, and living a dream future you both want to live together.

But, no matter who you choose as a partner, a conflict-free, emotionally-perfect, and completely-blissful marriage does not exist. Even the best marriages have disagreements, arguments, and fights. But as long as you agree on the big decisions in life, at least your fights will be over the small decisions in life.

I wanted to write this article to pull back the curtain on my own marriage, and show the pros and cons that we experience as we pursue the same financial life together.

We’re lucky that we rarely argue about money, because finances are a top-10 cause for divorce and conflict in American mairrages. But as you’ll see, just because we’re on the same financial page, that doesn’t mean our marriage is perfect or argument-free. It just means that we have more time to disagree about everything else, haha.

Here are a few examples that show the pros and cons of marrying a person who shares the same frugal logic as you:

Decision Making:

Pro: When you’re on the same financial page as your spouse, all of the financial decisions you make are made using the same shared-logic you both posses. Therefore, the question as to how to spend your money wisely together becomes a logical act, rather than acting on a whim. It makes saving a ton of money easy, because you both think saving and investing makes sense, so you effortlessly do it together. But marriage and life isn’t about being 100% logical and disciplined all of the time. This overly-logical trait leads to the con of marrying someone who is on the same frugal page as you.

Con: Because you’re both so logical and disciplined financially together, sometimes you’ll miss out on taking a huge risk, or going on an awesome adventure, because spending money on this particular event just doesn’t make a lot of sense to your shared financially-logical minds.

But if you asked me what type of married-life I’d rather experience: A YOLO life (You Only Live Once life) where major life decisions are based on emotional feelings, and anything and everything good and bad may happen. Or a disciplined journey of logical decisions that will naturally lead you to the life you want to live, I’d choose the logical lifestyle 10 out of 10 times because you’re almost guaranteed to reach the destination you dream about. If you base major life decisions on emotions and feelings, there’s only a chance you’ll end up living the life you want to live, and a chance is just not enough for me. I want to be sure.

Traveling Together:

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.wealthwelldone.com/the-ups-and-downs-of-money-and-marriage/

Visualized: The Security Features of American Money

Visualized: The Security Features of American Money

December 2, 2022  By Avery Koop   Graphics/Design: Mark Belan

In 1739, Benjamin Franklin sought to tackle the issue of counterfeit money in America, using a printing press and leaves to create unique raised patterns on the colonial notes.

Almost 300 years later, Benjamin Franklin is the face of the U.S. $100 bill, and it is protected by a myriad of security features including secret images, special ink, hidden watermarks, and magnetic signatures, among others.  In this visual, we’ve broken down the $100 bill to showcase the anatomy of American currency.

The Makeup of American Money

There are 6 key features that identify real bills and protect the falsification of American money.

① Serial Numbers & EURion Constellation

The most basic form of security on an $100 bill is the serial number. Every bill has a unique number to record data on its production and keep track of how many individual bills are in circulation.

The EURion constellation is star-like grouping of yellow rings near the serial number. It is only detectable by imaging software.

② Color Changing Ink

This ink changes color at different angles thanks to small metallic flakes within the ink itself. The $100 bill, like all other paper bills in the U.S., has its value denoted in color changing ink on the bottom right-hand corner; unlike other bills, it also features a liberty bell image using the ink.

③ Microprinting

Microprinting allows for verifiable images that cannot be scanned by photocopiers or seen by the naked eye. The $100 bill has phrases like “USA 100” written invisibly in multiple places.

④ Intaglio Printing

Rather than regular ink pressed onto the paper, intaglio printing uses magnetic ink and every different bill value has a unique magnetic signature.

⑤ Security Threads & 3D Ribbons

The security thread is a clear, embedded, vertical thread running through the bill. It can only be seen under UV light, contains microprinted text specifying the bill’s value, and on each different bill value it glows a unique color.

Additionally, 3D ribbons are placed in the center of $100 bills with a pattern that slightly changes as it moves.

⑥ Paper, Fibers, & Watermarks

Because American money is made of cotton and linen, blue and red cloth fibers are woven into the material as another identifying feature. Finally, watermarks are found on most bills and can only be detected by light passing through the bill.

The Relevance of Cash

Here’s a look at the total number of each paper bill that is physically in circulation in the U.S.:

Physical Bill         Billions of notes (2021)

$1                              14.0

$2                               1.4

$5                               3.4

$10                           2.3

$20                         11.9

$50                            2.5

$100                        17.7

$500-$10,000           0.0004

Total                        53.2

Interestingly, a number of $500-$10,000 dollar bills are in someone’s pockets. And while they are not issued anymore, the Fed still recognizes the originals of these bills that were legally put into circulation in the past.

$10,000 U.S. note (1934 series)  A $10,000 Federal Reserve Note (1934)

Additionally, there is fake money passing hands in the U.S. economy. Being the most widely-accepted currency in the world, it’s no wonder many try to falsely replicate American money. According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, there are approximately $70 million in counterfeit bills currently circulating in the country.

Finally, a natural question arises: how many people still use cash anyways?

Well, a study from Pew Research Center found that it while it is a dwindling share of the population, around 58% of people still use cash for some to all of their weekly purchases, down from 70% in 2018 and 75% in 2015.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/security-features-american-money/ 

Ten Words for 2023

Ten Words for 2023

Jonathan Clements  Humble Dollar   Dec 31, 2022

MOST OF US ARE forever striving to be better versions of ourselves—usually with mixed success. Still, the changing of the calendar often prompts renewed efforts. But what should we focus on? Let me offer 10 words that I try to live by.

1. Pause. Throughout the day, we make snap decisions, and they usually work out just fine—except when it comes to spending and investment choices. Got an overwhelming urge to buy an expensive bauble or make a portfolio change? Try waiting a few days, so your feverish desire has a chance to cool and you can ponder the decision with a clearer head.

2. Reflect. Feeling down? Take a minute to think about your good fortune—the friends and family who surround you, the home you live in, the wonderful experiences you’ve enjoyed, the wealth you’ve accumulated. With gratitude comes happiness.

3. Move. Exercise has all kinds of benefits—physical, emotional and cognitive. If possible, try to get your exercise outside, so you can delight in nature, see your fellow humans at play and feel the sun upon your face.

4. Give. This doesn’t have to be money. You can also give of your time by, say, volunteering for your favorite charity or helping out at your place of worship. I see this every day: HumbleDollar’s writers get paid little—and some decline payment—and yet they pour countless hours into their articles. Trust me, they’re a wonderful bunch of folks to work with.

5. Sleep. This is one of my greatest struggles. I know I sleep better when I’ve been active during the day, eat earlier in the evening and have addressed any major worries. What if these things don’t happen? You’ll find me answering emails at 4 a.m.

6. Simplify. Over the past few years, I’ve been shedding both possessions and financial accounts. I highly recommend it. It’s liberating to be less encumbered by both financial complexity and household items you no longer care about. Afraid you’ll dispose of something and later regret it? I’ve shed countless items and, thus far, I haven’t had a single pang of regret.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://humbledollar.com/2022/12/ten-words-for-2023/

Cashpocalypse Now

Cashpocalypse Now

As America creeps toward a cashless future, we make some wildly uneducated guesses about what might help the greenback stay on top.

Words and illustrations by Lucas Adams and James Folta  2.5.2019

2021   American idiots

Bitcoin. Cashless restaurants. Automated cashiers. Venmo. The US Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing is scrambling to save paper currency and their jobs making it. They argue that not only is paper money still hard to knock off, but that our society is also in danger of losing face-to-face interactions forever. Cash needs to become king, again. These middle managers come to a consensus: Americans want more of their favorite presidents, but with more fun and relatability. Treasury introduces bills with depictions of infamous presidential bloopers: Gerald Ford bonking his head on a plane door, Jimmy Carter facing down a swamp rabbit, George Herbert Walker Bush barfing on the prime minister of Japan, and Barack Obama wearing a tan suit. It has to work.

2023 Colorblind voting

It doesn’t. So the Treasury turns to America’s real tastemakers, the public. They launch UPick, an online voting initiative for Americans to submit and vote on colors other than green for money.  With over 5 million votes submitted to help pick “The Colors of America,” UPick is a mild success, but there are some surprising results. Winners include: “Recession Brown,” “America in Crisis Pink,” “The Blood of Patriots Red,” and “Yellow Journalism.” Confusion mounts about whether this is “real money,” as people mistake it for receipts, counterfeits, or Euros.

2024  ‘America’s Greatest Moments’

Shaken by America’s taste but still committed to UPick, Treasury introduces a next round to choose which of “America’s Greatest Moments” will be featured on new denominations. New images are selected for inflation-created denominations:

$15: The Gettysburg Address

$23: The 20-Year Anniversary of The Simple Life in 2023

$38: Mr. Met’s Birthday

$62: Apollo 13 (the film)

$123: OJ’s Bronco Chase

$280: The Birth of the Hot Dog

$500: Camille Grammer of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Invites a Medium to a Dinner Party

Go To Link to view all illustrations : https://www.topic.com/cashpocalypse-now

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.topic.com/cashpocalypse-now

The Eternal Allure of Wearable Wealth

The Eternal Allure of Wearable Wealth

Words by Saba Imtiaz  Illustrated by Yulia Nidbalskaya                          

Throughout human history, money hasn’t just been used to buy clothing—it’s been incorporated into the very fabric of fashion itself.

On a Thursday evening in September 2018, the reality TV star Kim Kardashian West attended a party in L.A. wearing the following items of clothing: a vintage Jeremy Scott trench coat, Balenciaga boots, and a glittering bag by Judith Leiber. The thing that bound her look together: money.   Everything screamed money; the trench and boots were covered in a dollar-bill print, and the bag featured a large, sparkly dollar sign. West was dressing for success: the party was in celebration of makeup mogul Anastasia Soare, whose company, Anastasia Beverly Hills, reportedly had sold a minority stake in a deal that could value the business at up to $3 billion, according to CNBC.

“What do you do when your friend sells her company for a couple billion?” Kardashian West said. “You wear a full money fit and throw her a party. Okcurrr!”

West might have lit the fire of the clickbait headline machine—“Kim Kardashian Looks Like a Billion Bucks in Money Dress and Matching Boots,” via Entertainment Tonight—but her outfit was rooted in a long, global history of people wearing money, literally and symbolically, to celebrate things.

In parts of India and Pakistan, garlands made of local rupees adorn the necks of grooms at weddings. Polynesian leis include American dollar bills folded into floral shapes.

Wearing and rolling around in and showing off money has been immortalized in Western popular culture, from depictions of Scrooge McDuck diving into gold coins in his vault to First Lady Melania Trump, who was photographed with a bowl of jewelry for the cover of Vanity Fair’s Mexico edition in 2017.

When West was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel in 2016, the Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld blamed the reality-show star and her public flaunting of her profligacy. “You cannot display your wealth and then be surprised that some people want to share it with you,” he told reporters.

Yet the practice of wearing money is a part of everyday language: the word “sequin,” as author and professor Jack Weatherford points out in the 1998 book The History of Money, derives from the practice of stitching gold and silver coins onto cloth, or using them as jewelry.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.topic.com/the-eternal-allure-of-wearable-wealth

The Quiet Disappearance Of The Safe Deposit Box

The Quiet Disappearance Of The Safe Deposit Box

Michael Waters  December 2, 2022 Very Informative & Interesting

Once revered as the safest way to store physical valuables, safe deposit boxes are now being phased out by major banks. The move is already starting to backfire.

In the opening sequence of The Bourne Identity, a young Matt Damon wakes up with no idea who he is. All he has is a code — the account number for a safe deposit box in Switzerland.

At the bank, an attendant leads him into an elaborate steel vault, where he’s presented with a safe deposit box. Inside are the first clues to his identity: a gun, a watch, stacks of cash, and a series of passports under different nationalities, including one bearing the name “Jason Bourne.”

Over the years, safe deposit boxes have become iconic — a staple not only of the banking industry but also of heist movies and spy flicks. Inside Man, The Dark Knight, Casino, and The Da Vinci Code all feature pivotal safe deposit box scenes.

In Hollywood, safe deposit boxes are so prominent, in fact, that it’s easy to miss the seismic changes racking the industry: In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, big banks have quietly abandoned the safe-deposit business.

Both HSBC and Barclays have shuttered their safe-deposit services in many countries, and Capital One joined them in 2016. Most recently, this past September, JPMorgan Chase announced it was phasing out its safe deposit boxes, too. In the coming decade, other major banks seem likely to join them.

What went so wrong?

The Rise Of The Safe Deposit Box

The Civil War was just days away when a New York businessman named Francis Jenks stumbled on an idea that would change the face of the banking industry.

In March 1861, while on a trip to England, Jenks — the moneyed son of a Harvard professor — began to wonder what he was supposed to do with his valuables while he was out of town.

He decided to create a company that would store items for New York’s “fashionable inhabitants,” who wanted to, say, decamp to Europe for the summer.

Rather than worry about burglaries, Jenks suggested that the urban elite store their books, wills, jewelry, tea sets, and silver with him.

He opened a massive, marble building in lower Manhattan, complete with a thick steel vault. Inside, he offered 500 safe deposit boxes to customers.

To ensure the safety of the boxes, Jenks required two keys to unlock a box: one key for the customer and one key for his employees. Guards armed with muskets stood in front of the building at 146 Broadway through the night.

He called it the Safe Deposit Company of New York.

It was the first company of its kind — and as the Civil War broke out, demand soared. Bold-faced names like the Vanderbilts, the Guggenheims, the Roosevelts, and more began storing their valuables with Jenks. Hetty Green, the millionaire businesswoman, maintained a private vault so big that it could fit a desk inside of it.

It was such a success that copycat safe deposit box companies began proliferating across the US, with names like the Mercantile Safe Deposit Company and the Lincoln Safe Deposit Company.

While the first safe-deposit companies were stand-alone organizations, dedicated solely to safekeeping, major banks soon got involved. By the early 20th century, nearly every bank in America had a safe-deposit arm.

The Tricky Economics Of Safe Deposit Boxes

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://thehustle.co/the-quiet-disappearance-of-the-safe-deposit-box/

Santa Claus Images History

Santa Claus Images History

Lorraine Boissoneault   December 19, 2018

A Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda

Thomas Nast is legendary for his political cartoons, but he’s also responsible for the jolly St. Nick we know today

You could call it the face that launched a thousand Christmas letters. Appearing on January 3, 1863, in the illustrated magazine Harper’s Weekly, two images cemented the nation’s obsession with a jolly old elf. The first drawing shows Santa distributing presents in a Union Army camp.

Lest any reader question Santa’s allegiance in the Civil War, he wears a jacket patterned with stars and pants colored in stripes. In his hands, he holds a puppet toy with a rope around its neck, its features like those of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

A second illustration features Santa in his sleigh, then going down a chimney, all in the periphery. At the center, divided into separate circles, are a woman praying on her knees and a soldier leaning against a tree. “

In these two drawings, Christmas became a Union holiday and Santa a Union local deity,” writes Adam Gopnik in a 1997 issue of the New Yorker. “It gave Christmas to the North—gave to the Union cause an aura of domestic sentiment, and even sentimentality.”

The artist responsible for this coup? A Bavarian immigrant named Thomas Nast, political cartoonist extraordinaire and the person who “did as much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end,” according to General Ulysses Grant. But like so many inventors, Nast benefitted from the work of his fellow visionaries in creating the rotund, resplendent figure of Santa Claus. He was a man with the right talents in the right place at the perfect time.

Prior to the early 1800s, Christmas was a religious holiday, plain and simple. Several forces in conjunction transformed it into the commercial fête that we celebrate today. The wealth generated by the Industrial Revolution created a middle class that could afford to buy presents, and factories meant mass-produced goods.

Examples of the holiday began to appear in popular literature, from Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (more commonly known by its first verse, “Twas the night before Christmas”) to Charles Dickens’ book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843. By the mid-1800s, Christmas began to look much more as it does today.  

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-cartoonist-created-modern-image-santa-claus-union-propaganda-180971074/

At a Gas Station on a Cold Christmas Eve...............

A NEW CHRISTMAS STORY . . .This story is better than any greeting card.

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been
anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to
him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate.

He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last
hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless
man stepped through.

Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his
customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank
you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy,
I'll just go."

"Not without something hot in your belly." George said.

He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger.
"It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're
done, there's coffee and it's fresh."

Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me,
be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy.
Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you
help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with
child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block
looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.

"You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away.

"But Mister, please help ..." The door of the office closed behind George
as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old
truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the
garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was
waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever
looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into
the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the
truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George
thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos
was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he
got something in his belly," George thought.

George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It
cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the
truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do.
Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn't
cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can
fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on.

"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the
snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn't
going to drive the car anyway.

As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a
police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left
shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me."

George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had
received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention.
"Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been
there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct
tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said,
trying to make the policeman feel at ease.

"Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for
his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the
policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance."

The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there
talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone
into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.

He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the
officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the
area."

George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the
Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check
for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya.
Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your
gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked.

"None for me," said the officer.

"Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no
donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun.
"Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was
shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this
before.

"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.

"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon
away. Somebody else might get hurt."

The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now
give me the cash!"

The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to
the cop, "we got one too many in here now."

He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you
need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that
pea shooter away."

George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man,
reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released
his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good
at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he
went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last
week."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now
and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we
can."

He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from
the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup
of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in
here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort
this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot
you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."

"Shut up and drink your coffee " the cop said.

George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an
ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn.
"Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.

"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"

"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the
other cop asked as he approached the young man.

Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just
dropped his gun and ran."

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.
"That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued.

"Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man
leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?"

Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks
for everything."

"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve
some of your problems."

George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a
ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha
would mind. She said it would come in handy some day."

The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw.
"I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you."

"And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories.
That's all I need."

George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared
next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's
something for that little man of yours."

The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old
man had handed him earlier.

"And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that
too," George said. "Now git home to your family."

The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in
the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."

"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you
come from? I thought you left?"

"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say
you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"

"Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother
was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin'
cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and
besides I was gettin' a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the
holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold
and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great
doctor.

The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by
terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and
not take any for himself. "That is the spirit of the season and you keep it
as good as any man."

George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know
all this?" asked the old man.

"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when
your days are done you will be with Martha again."

The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have
to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the
stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill
the room.

"You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus"

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS!

Christmas "Bits and Pieces" Posted by Mot at TNT

Mot:  This Special Event Happened on 'Christmas 1915'........

Christmas 1915 World War One.

Legend has it that on Christmas Day 1915, soldiers from both sides of the trenches in World War One met up in No-Man's-Land for a game of football. ...

Bertie Felstead recalled that the Germans probably were already out of their trench before the British got out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG3l-OBdcPI

Christmas Truce of World War I -- Joyeux Noel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cSrqRdlFeo

Mot:  .. LOL - the Things Folks Come Up With!! ~~~

Mot:  ....... oooh Nooooo - Not again! ~~~~~

Mot: ......... Special Moments Caught Forever!! ~~~

Mot .. WHITE CHRISTMAS ~~~~~  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QW65Amj0vM

Mot:  ~~~ Home Free - O' Holy Night ~~~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO6OZIY-lYw