The 2013 Christmas season brought our family a bag of mixed emotions. On Dec. 17, our son took his father to the emergency room at Christ Hospital and to our surprise, he was having a heart attack. On Dec. 19, he had a quadruple bypass. By the grace of God, an excellent surgeon, surgical team, fantastic nursing staff in the heart unit and others, his operation was successful.

The worst of the season was that our son and his family didn’t get a chance to enjoy the holidays. Our son was in charge of his father’s health issues because of my impaired mobility. He had to transport me in a wheelchair over snow and ice and down long hospital halls. Our son went every morning before work to the hospital to make sure his father ate breakfast. He spent many nights with me, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve while his family was at home.

I had great family support, but I felt bad about the burden I put upon all of them. They gave generously of their time, and I love and...

One Christmas season my best friend and neighbor, Donna, and I decided to go Christmas shopping together to the Ford City shopping center. Between us we had seven children, so we were laden down with lots of packages when we were finished. When we came out of the mall, it had started to snow and turn dark. Suddenly Donna turned to me and said she forgot what car she had been driving. Her husband sometimes bought used cars and resold them. I had paid no attention to the make or model.

As the snow whipped around us and we walked the crowded aisles of cars, we could not help laughing. Finally after 20 minutes or so (it seemed longer at the time), we located our wheels.

It was probably around 40 years ago, and we still remember and laugh at ourselves.

— Carole Bogaard, Oak Lawn

The big day was coming. I could hardly wait to tear off the brown wrapping paper. I knew there would be a beautiful doll inside. Every year, my aunt sent my sis and me a doll apiece, knowing it was our only gift.

Dec. 25 finally arrived. My sister and I tore open our boxes. Hers was perfect. My doll’s face was cracked.

I started to cry as I held my beautiful doll.

I started to look at her face. She was still perfect to me.

Many years have gone by; I learned something that morning so many years ago. I now try to judge people for their goodness and inner beauty — kindness, not their looks.

— Betty Pecora, Homewood

The worst holiday season memory I have is the year when many diverse and relatively insignificant matters prevented my entire family from being able to be together as was our respected tradition.

I encourage all families to do all they can to embrace caringly the noble, beloved traditions of our holiday seasons going forward, whatever your beliefs. These are your moments to create something in your lives that is meaningful and enduring.

Don’t lose this ephemeral opportunity.

— Leon J. Hoffman, clinical psychologist, Chicago

On Christmas Eve in 1974, I celebrated downtown with my co-workers. I lived in Berwyn and took the train from Union Station to get home at the Ridgeland Avenue stop.

In a happy, contented mood, I missed my stop and woke up three stops later in Riverside. I walked to my home in Berwyn, where my wife and six kids were waiting for me to go to dinner at my parents’ house. I walked in and passed out in my bed. My wife took the family to my parents’ home for dinner.

I woke up two hours later and since we had only one car, I walked to my parents’ house in Cicero.

Naturally dinner was over, but my father and brother had taken a picture with their arms around no one (the missing me).

They kidded me endlessly and I was really disappointed in what had happened.

However, the photo made the rounds annually until my dad died. And everyone, including me, always had a great laugh.

It was the worst and the best holiday.

— Jim Zak, North Riverside

Doomsayers again are predicting economic calamity if the federal minimum wage is raised. Nonsense. They've been trying to con us for 70 years without wising up or shutting up.

In 1938, the minimum was set at 25 cents an hour. Naysayers grumbled. Employment held.

In 1968, it rose to $1.60 an hour. Naysayers wailed jobs would shrink.  Employment held.

In 2009, it became $7.25 an hour. Despite predictions of doom, employment held.

With an increase expected across several states and cities in 2015, the naysayer chorus is again screaming, "Jobs will shrink!" But as we all know, at each step, the republic has not fallen. The economy has barely burped. The working poor got a modicum of breathing room before, once again, inflation ate away their improved quality of life. Then the next tug-of-war over wages began anew.

The real job threat is not wage levels but job export and continuing automation. The greater national threat is income disparity, which is hollowing out the middle class and...