I was driving today and a song came on the radio, “Ain’t No Chimneys in the Projects.” It’s a song by Sharon Jones and the Dap-King. It’s one of the songs that I had totally forgotten about until I heard it again. Basically, what the song is about is, how does Santa deliver his gifts when there is no chimney for him to travel down? …You know, the whole mythos of how Santa goes from house to house in his sleigh and then goes down each chimney, delivering gifts to those who were, “Nice.”
 
…As you may know, The Projects are large apartment style complexes where the less fortunate tend to live. And, being an apartment building the units do not have individual chimneys.
 
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a chimney. No matter where I’ve lived, I never had a fireplace where a chimney is needed. I had this friend, way back in the way back when, he rented this house for a time with his girlfriend and they had a chimney.  Every now and then, when I was visiting, he would light up the fire in the fireplace. But, that was never the norm of my life. I’ve never fired up a fire in a fireplace.
 
So, as the song details, how did Santa deliver my gifts?
 
I’m being illustrative here; obviously.
 
But, as we are just a couple of days away from Christmas 2025, and this timeframe is titled, “The Season of Giving,” all of this stuff is probably on your mind; the giving and the getting.
 
I was in a Thrift Store today and I was speaking, just for a moment, with this Shop Girl I’ve known for a long time. I asked her, “You all set for Christmas?” You know… Just the small talk you make with people you kinda know. Her answer, “I don’t celebrate Christmas. But, my aunt is throwing a tamale party and I’m all about that.” To each their own.
 
But, back to The Season of Giving… Yeah, a lot of us don’t have a chimney for Santa to travel down. Does that mean that we should get no gifts? Does that mean that we should not give gifts? I say, “No.” I say this is The Time of Giving. And, no matter what your religious persuasion is—no matter what your philosophy is, take some time and give! Think about when you receive a gift. Doesn’t that just make you feel all kinds of better? Why not make someone else feel that way? Give them a gift! Even if you don’t personally know someone, give them a gift! It just makes everything a little bit better. And, making things better, making someone’s life just a little bit better, isn’t that something that we all want to do? GIVE!