I look around me, and I see nothing but heartbreak and/or suffering.

The middle-aged man on the street corner, holding a sign hand-lettered in red that reads:  "Will work for food.  Help a homeless Veteran today!"

A Hispanic-looking woman with three kids looking for a place to stay for the night as they were thrown out of the apartment they lived in because they couldn't keep up with their payments/rent.

A college-age boy struggling to walk on worn crutches as he lurches his way to school, wearing nothing but a thin, threadbare jacket that won't keep out the cold, and holey jeans.  I know the kid must be freezing to death.

An elderly woman digging through trash cans looking for something halfway edible to eat, her clothes hanging off of her in tattered rags.

To see sights like this here in America (supposed to be the richest nation in the world) tears my very heart in two.  I wish I could do more to help people like these and hundreds, no perhaps, thousands more who are probably facing the same dire circumstances.

It seems the government has turned their backs on these forgotten people.  The thought of it makes me sick!

People seem to forget the adults, especially around holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Everything seems to be for the children (which it should be), but what about the adults, especially adults who have lost their homes or jobs due to the economy, or those facing health problems, or those who are disabled?  What about those who are working two/three/four jobs to try to put food on the table or pay their bills??

Don't they matter, too??

I guess not because it seems that adults should be able to take care of themselves.  Maybe so, but what about those who can't??  What about those who became homeless or ended up on "the poor side of broke" through no fault of their own??  Don't they deserve to have a little compassion or assistance??

Or would people rather see them die or be forgotten??

The children mean everything.  Everyone's ready to help a cute sick or dying child; yet when they see an adult who is suffering, they'd rather sweep them away, like dust under a rug.  They don't want to even think about the homeless Veteran whose only crime was to fight for our country when nobody else would.  Or the elderly grandma or grandpa who must make the decision whether to eat or pay for their medications so they can live.  Or the man who lost his legs to diabetes and now must use a wheelchair to get around.

I see this all too often every year, and it seems every year it's getting worse.  I get angry because nobody is willing to reach out and help a deserving adult; yet they help children without being asked.

More often than not, they help children in developing countries instead of children (or even adults) in their own back yard.

How about helping adults, in addition to the children, here in America?? There are way too many hurting or needy adults here, especially nowadays in these bleak economic times.  How about reaching out and making their lives just a little bit easier?  They didn't ask for ending up like this; it was just a bad turn of events that they had no control over!  Now they suffer just as much as the children; yet people would rather walk away than reach out.

Oh!  And one more thing:  they just don't need help at Christmastime: they need help each and every day of the year!  Remember that!