The considerable aroma of ""CARBS"" permeates the front lines of Jewish homes throughout the land....Blue and white, iced cookies fill the shelves of local supermarkets and bakeries....The shining and shimmering CHOCOLATE CHANUKAH GELT wrappers ..continue to twinkle and invite....Doughnuts have been filled with luscious, red jams and jellies...An all-around FESTIVE and BOUNTIFUL atmosphere is in motion....And then...We see HIM....
the old man....or is he a YOUNG man ??sitting on a torn blanket just outside the market...shivering mindlessly from cold and hunger...and our heart becomes engorged...just for that moment really....and we wonder...Is he somebody''s BROTHER ?SON ?FATHER even ?down....FAR DOWN on his luck....hopelessly surviving from day to day....and we WANT to help...NO!!We MUST help....But how ?with a sandwich or a LATKE ??REALLY ??What can we do for this LOST SOUL sitting here on the stoop ?as we stuff our trunk with bags and bags of SUPERFLUOUS sundries ??How can we affect any kind of CHANGE for him ??DOES HE WANT CHANGE ??And so...we hand him a 5 dollar bill....And our glove is made of the FINEST< buttery leather...As we are VERY CAREFUL not to touch his dirty, pock-marked hand....and he mumbles some sort of THANK YOU....and GOD BLESS YOU....and we drive away....We wipe the tears from our eyes with the same glove....and we go home to prepare for the CHANUKAH PARTY....And within a few minutes time ....we''ve forgotten all about him....