Holiday Mixed-Up

     Does anyone else feel as if the holiday season has been growing over the past few years?  It used to be that the Christmas season did not start until AFTER Thanksgiving.  The following day was the biggest shopping day of the year, (ever heard of Black Friday?), and the craziness of the holidays would begin.  At 6 am, the morning after Thanksgiving, there would be lines waiting to get into every department store across the country.  There would be sales on every hot ticket item, and the lowest prices of the year.  Everyone had to get their share of the sale, and they would wait in the cold for hours.  When the stores would finally open, a mad rush of frustrated shoppers would frantically scurry to scoop up as many of the treasured goods as they could.  People would get hurt, some would be upset at what they could not get to in time, and it was assumed that everyone would spend a lot of money.  Sounds like fun, right?  A good, old American tradition.

     The stores have been ruining Black Friday!  They cram every last centimeter of newspaper and second of television air time with advertisements about their low price items and gimmicks to lure people into their store at the crack of dawn.  What they are hesitant to tell you, is that they only stock a few of each of those items in every store.  They drive the anxiety through the roof when 500 people are rushing to the same store for the same 8 blue ray players.  Then they wonder why people get trampled to death.

     Not only are you guaranteed to not get the item you want on the biggest shopping day of the year, (unless you are going to save money on something no one else will going for, such as underwear), but you will spend a lot of time waiting around for the sale to even begin.  The stores have begun to move up the time they open to enhance you to come to them first.  This year there were stores opening at 5 am, 4 am, 3 am, and even midnight!  One store began their sale at 10 pm on Thanksgiving night!  For one thing, spreading out the times that stores open is taking away from the madness of Black Friday.  That is a pro and a con, depending on who you are.  But pushing it into Thanksgiving?  That is taking it a little too far.  That is a day to be with family and friends, and to be THANKFUL.  Not to be running around town trying to save a buck!  If we keep pushing the Christmas season up anymore, soon we will be holiday shopping in our Halloween costumes.

     The moving up of the season just kills the spirit too quickly.  The Hallmark Channel has been playing holiday movies for awhile, radio station 100.5 fm plays holiday songs 24/7 beginning the day after Thanksgiving, and ABC Family has their countdown to their 25 Days of Christmas.  Who ever heard of a countdown to a countdown?  It gets to the point that people are so fed up with the holidays by the time that they actually happen, that the Christmas trees are out by the curb on Christmas Eve.  I’d like to enjoy my holiday, thank you very much.  My tree goes up in December, and comes down in January.

     But, to each his own.  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy (fill in the blank)!  You should not let anyone decide when you should celebrate.

THANKSgiving

     In America, we set aside the fourth Thursday of November to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We eat a lot of food, mostly turkey and pie, and are supposed to think about what we are thankful for.  It is nice to be grounded and reminded that we are not alone in this world, and how different our lives would be without the simplest of comforts.  It just makes me wonder why we only set aside one of the 365.25 days a year to be thankful.

     I am thankful for…

     1) Soap.  This includes hand soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, body wash, and any other cleaning product you can think of.  Of course my favorite is instant hand sanitizer.  We have the luxury of being clean all of the time, of which more people should appreciate, (and take full advantage).

     2) Friends, family, celebrities (like Johnny Depp), movies, and television.  They are what keep life interesting.

     3) Water when I am thirsty, and food when I am hungry…and not so hungry.

     4) Vacations.  They always come just in the nick of time.

     5) Phones so I can talk to my family and friends, and caller id so that I can avoid talking to my family and friends.

     6) This blog.  I can say all I want, and have no idea that no one is reading it!

     7) Electricity.  How could we use the computer without it?

     8) Hot running water.  There is nothing like taking a hot shower on a cold day.

     9) People who care about me.  Even if it is only to occasionally read a blog post because there is nothing on television.

     10) LIFE…it is a fun game, a tasty cereal, and a wonderful thing to experience.

What are you thankful for?

Welcome

     I never thought I would start a blog.  I suppose it is like everything else today: everyone has one originally, I think it is ridiculous and swear that I will never use one, and eventually I end up having one of my own that I am completely dedicated to.  Fifty years ago there was no such thing as the internet, personal laptops, the iPod, iPads, or cell phones.  People seemed to be genuinely happy with whatever they could afford, and the ONE television in their house was sure to be black and white.  Now, if the children are not getting the latest and greatest thing on the market, they are not content with anything.  Their home televisions are even in 3D.  As if the iPhone was not good enough, the day the new one comes out, they have to be standing in line at the store to go and replace the perfectly fine version they already own.  I think the companies wait for everyone to buy their product before they release their updated version.  There is always something better coming out; how much longer can we keep up with the market?  As amazing as the Wii is, now all of the systems have motion games that react to your body.  Whatever happened to Pong?!  Maybe it is the way that I was brought up; I appreciate what I own...I still WANT all of these things, but I understand that I cannot have EVERYTHING.
     So I suppose that is why I started this blog.  I could have it all by myself.
     So remember on Black Friday as you are pushing someone's grandmother over for that last video game...the next best thing is not going to come out until AFTER Christmas!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!