Just when you think that your wheels is all greased...

My hometown is bankrupt.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported recently that Uniontown, PA declared bankruptcy back in January and former mailman and new mayor Ed Fike didn't know about it until he took office. "I was overwhelmed," Fike said. "I was never in this building before I was elected. When you drive by City Hall or the courthouse it gives you a good feeling of ... security. You know that our wheels is all greased and they're all running right and little did I know that this was kind of the biggest farce that there ever was. The city was bankrupt."

Uniontown is the county seat of Fayette county out in southwest Pennsylvania. It has a population of about 12,000 people who have a median household income of just over $22,000 (median income for the state of Pennsylvania is $48,000). The last time anyone looked at the unemployment rate, it was approaching 13% and this was before the current turmoil.

Uniontown also has one daily paper, the Herald-Standard. There used to be two daily papers, the Morning Herald and the Evening Standard but long ago they realized that the city couldn't support two papers. How they came up with the new name remains a mystery.

So why am I telling you all of this? Because every year, starting at Thanksgiving, the Herald-Standard supports the local Salvation Army by sponsoring a "Give-A-Christmas" fundraising campaign. For the past few years, the goal has always been the same: $40,000. Their official mascot is Sparkle, the Christmas Star, who appears daily on Page One to provide an update and encourage contributions. That's her (at least I think she's a "her") at the top of this post. As of this morning, they had raised $16,742.90 and Sparkle waxed exuberant:

“Wow! That’s fantastic,’’ said Sparkle, the official mascot for the campaign. "We're so thrilled to see everyone pitching in to help the Salvation Army. Remember, the money is given to Salvation Army service units in the Herald-Standard readership area. Your donation goes to the service unit that provides for your neighborhood. No money is shared. You are helping your neighbors
when you give.’’

“But please hurry,’’ said Sparkle. “We only have a few days left and we want to
raise $40,000 for the Salvation Army. They do a fantastic job of helping people.’’

Contributions are accepted until noon on the 23rd and the announcement of how much was raised comes in the Christmas Eve edition (www.heraldstandard.com). Quickly doing the math, you realize that they have raised less than $17,000 in 3 weeks and therefore have to raise another $23,257.10 in the next 5 1/2 days.

It's this way every year, a real nail biter. By about December 21st, they're in the mid to high $20Ks and you think, "No way... " but by Christmas Eve they have raised a little more than $40,000. Will they pull this one out of the hat as well? I'm betting yes, despite bankruptcy. Last minute corporate contributions? Sure. But those are good people out in Uniontown, most of whom won't be enjoying a lavish Christmas themselves. They are who Barack Obama said cling to their guns and religion in tough times. Perhaps, but they also cling to one another.

Maybe their wheels isn't, er, aren't greased as much this year and security is in shorter supply. But when they write to Sparkle and enclose a check for five or ten dollars, when little kids leave a dollar in the Christmas Castle at the Uniontown Mall and get to write their name on a paper star to hang in the Sparkle Sky, when anyone helps the other by giving what they can, they prove the proverbial true meaning of Christmas. Each one is like the Christmas candle that "... is a lovely thing. It makes no noise at all, but softly gives itself away."