Eat, Drink Be Merry and Give

In a time when many this Christmas will be seeing lumps of coal in their stockings and if they have a home, no hope coming down the chimney, the news out of Houston is refreshing and inspirational to say the least. Several bars across the country are donating a portion of their profits to charity, not just a token nickel or dime per drink a cap like foam on a beer but profits. If you are in Houston go to the Okra Charity Saloon---all profits to charity and better yet Playboy rates it as a top place to have brew. $300, 000 to charities that run circles around our well-meaning but inept federal and state agencies, in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Okra is now my new favorite four letter word. Merry Christmas to all and none for the road.
 

Okra Is the New Myrrh at Christmas

Alcohol and tobacco have always been easy targets of the “sin” tax

A golden goose of funds for the government’s goals to attach

But the news during the Christmas season suggests a far better way to give back

Private charities have always had the skill to treat, a skill the government lacks

Profit it appears is not, when it comes to giving, a four letter word

Whereas the government’s stewardship to help is absurd

The news is that bars and taverns are not just a place to eat and drink

But rather a source of funds to help the unfortunate to pull back from the brink

Look at the Okra Charity Saloon, one of Playboy’s tavern best

$300 k of all its profits to on the year despair to slow and arrest

No regulations, no audits, no bureaucratic layers

Just giving to those who need with no chest pounding or flair

We all know that taxes and red tape and rules make anyone want a strong drink

Redistribution of the wealth is in most cases an idiotic and foolish way to think

A 10 year old could build a website without millions of dollars spent down the drain

But our feds barely know it is and not smart enough to know when to come out of the rain

All of us this season should pause and to Okra and its ilk give thanks and a toast

A simple prayer that this is a giving trend from the heartlands to each coast

And an order one for charity and not one for the road

Even when not drinking, be today and always in a charitable mode

© December 22, 2013 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet