He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
- Mark 7:21-23
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- Ephesians 6:12
To clarify, I only went trick or treating one time as a youth, escorting my nephew around when I was a teenager. A few people had pity on me and gave me a small piece of candy, but the rest was for my nephew. I grew up on a farm and then my parents said I was too old. End of Trick or Treat before it ever started.
By the time this post comes out, it will be after Halloween. All the drama will be over, literal drama and figurative drama. But it could be that a little newly-minted nine-year-old will be disappointed, in Halloween and me.
In late-September, I was given the sizes and the wanted costumes for the youngest two of my grandchildren. The teenager could not make up his mind until it was already too late. I try to tell him that is a form of making up his mind. He went as a Scotsman, but that is not a costume. He has Scottish heritage on both sides of the family. He plays the bagpipes in the police pipe and drum corps. And he has two different kilts, although one is really owned by his bagpipe instructor. The other one used to be mine.
But I ordered the costumes, very expensive, for the other two and one could not be delivered until about the latter one third of October. This little boy and I do not see eye to eye. He behaves in school, mostly, but he puts in his best effort to do the opposite of everything that I tell him to do. I did not want him to get a second-rate costume. As it was, his sister had her costume delivered in two days, before the end of September. So, I paid what was about two-thirds of the original price to have the stupid costume expedited.
So, what did the online shopping mega store do? They contracted the “express” delivery to a company in Communist China that has a presence in the USA. Hey, “express” is part of their name. What could go wrong?
Well, when the end of the express shipping window was completed, I went to the website and the online mega store said that the package had been delivered. There was no delivery. Then the next day, the mega store said that they made a mistake. The package would be late. I would not be able to even request a refund until the late date passed without delivery. As the late date came and went, I am now able to get a refund, but my grandson still has no costume.
He has already missed one costumed event at his church. He may miss the next costumed event at his school, and all I have is a offer to get my money back, but they have already given me a third window, one that is later delivery than if I had never expedited in the first place. And he may have to get a low-quality costume that may or may not fit just to get a few pieces of candy on Halloween.
In spite of a nine-year-old in tears… Even if they can find a junk costume at the local store in his size, it will not be what he wanted.
I have worked with people from P. R. China. The worker level people are like people anywhere. They want to please and they try to do what is right. But when the government and their big corporations get involved, having “express” in the name of the company is only their to impress and get business.
Communism does not work. Those in the USA that want whatever they are calling it this week (definitely not Communism) are selling the country down the toilet so they can have their college loans paid. You will find that nothing works. The government gets their cut. The corporation, which is partly owned by the government, gets its cut. And everyone else barely squeaks by. No freedom. No extra slice of the pie. And you will probably still owe the money on those student loans at a higher interest rate, with reeducation camps looming if you do not pay on time. And your package is somewhere in the world, maybe.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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