I'd always thought the Salvation in Salvation Army was derived from the term "salvage", as in "Let's salvage that ratty-ass couch and sell it to some college kid for $15."At some point I made the connection of "salvation" and jesusness, at which point I stopped buying the $15 couches. It also changed the tone of those little bells some schlep has to peal in front of the local Piggly Wiggly. It started sounding less "Hear ye! Hear ye!" and a bit more "Haaaaa-leluia." In either case, I usually bury my head and dart past, unless I have a pocketful of loose change, in which case I toss them in and pay my holiday tax.
SK Waller, the Incurable Insomniac found a bit of "Haaaaa-leluia" actually made her afternoon. Surprising, since she doesn't seem to beat the jesus drum any more than I do. Ring her bell at this week's roundtable. How do you handle the ringers: avoid eye contact by looking at the road salt and poinsettia displays? Toss in a fiver and say "Bless-sed be thou and thine?" throw them a deke by fumbling for your pockets only to pull out your car keys? The Insomniac might need some pointers. We might lose her to the light side.
4 comments:
not being american the bell ringers are something we never see on the street in that way.
i do however donate to a few 'religious based' charities as many of them do work effectively. and they don't force their god stuff in my face.
i liked the insomniac's story.. i love hearing people sing to themselves, so i'd be cheered up too. as i've said before living here in allahville i'd kiss a christian for a bit of festivity :)
Oh, dear; wait until Val, the former Chicago and Wisconsin gal, reads you mentioning Piggly Wiggly.
I have a lot of respect for the work of the Salvation Army--they're one church that really goes out of its way to help those in need, which is why they get so many volunteers who are not members of their churches (but members of Rotary and Kiwanis and so forth) to ring those bells (I've even put my time in)
As for Keda's comments, I'm surprised she hasn't seen them ringing outside of stores in her native England, or maybe bell ringing is just a North American version of the Salvation Army--which was started by a William Booth in England in the 19th Century (and how do I happen to know this... at one point in my life, I just happened to have spent lots of time studying 19th century religous movements including writing a dissertation on the subject)
The Sally Ann doesn't seem to do a whole lot of street solicitation here in London.
Of course, I do my best to avoid streets and malls during the holiday season. So they're probably out there, but I'm safely ensconced at home, oblivious to the cold, cruel realities of the world.
Someday, I'll venture out. Until then, I shall blog.
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