Richard Simms, CrappieNOW Editor, has spent 50 years sharing the message of conservation
and the beauty of nature. During this holiday season, he simply wishes all the words he’s
written have not been in vain. (Photo: Richard Simms)
A Christmas Wish from the Editor
by Richard Simms
There you sit, surfing around on the Internet (or as one of my friends calls it, “The Minnownet”). Somehow you clicked around long enough to happen upon this column.
Perhaps it is even Christmas Day. You are surrounded by ripped-up wrapping paper. A cup of coffee steams on the table beside you while the kids are off in the living room dressing new dolls, zapping each other with laser guns or playing with their own new iPads and wondering what made grandma think they really needed new socks.
It is Christmas Day so you’re in a charitable mood and you have nothing better to do. You decide to read what this little spiel is all about.
Behold, today it’s nothing more than a man with a wish, a Christmas wish if you will.
In all of my life, I’ve cared more for the outdoors than my family thinks I should have. In all of my professional life, I’ve been involved in outdoor communications, directly or indirectly.
If I could receive the perfect Christmas wish, it would be to know that somewhere along the way, we’ve made a difference. To know that all the words written about “conservation” and “wise use of our natural resources” have not been written in vain.
To know that somewhere there is someone who reads my meager words and then, for some mysterious reason, cares about things they’ve never cared about before. That would be better than anything under the Christmas tree right now.
It’s a wish that we all can learn to listen to the joys of the world through the song of a sparrow singing a song so sweet it cannot be ignored. That we can see those parts of our world devoid of concrete with only puffy clouds or stars overhead.
Wish with me that our sons and daughters know and appreciate what we, and those before us, have done right. But let them not be blinded by faith and believe that we have done no wrong. We’ve walked a fine line like a mountain trail.
But each morning, I step outside and feel the tingle of cold, clean air around me. And on this Christmas day, I believe more strongly than ever that we have done well.
You or I can sit on the edge of a nearby lake or stream and watch herons, ducks, muskrats, beavers, squirrels, deer and even bald eagles soaring overhead. Perhaps we even catch a crappie while we’re doing it. Then we can return to the comfort of our homes to rejoice with friends and family.
So please, as you continue to savor your Christmas blessings, keep in mind my Christmas wish – a wish for peace and prosperity, indoors…and especially out.
If I get that, I will have a very Merry Christmas.
