A Little Too Early!

Two days from tonight we will all, at least those of us in the US, will be sitting down for Thanksgiving Dinner. After stuffing our faces many of us will be heading home on the slow sleepy drive back home while others will roll themselves into the adjacent room, beach themselves on the couch, and go to sleep. It is a great day to spend with family without the obligation or expectation of gifts, it’s simply a time to get together and give thanks for what you have and the people around you (at least most of them).

At the tail end of the day, with only a couple/few hours until the calendar page is turned, stores will be opening their doors to throngs of people looking for the best deal of the year (until it hits the clearance rack) and the cheapest gifts possible for the impending gift giving season. Every family has that one person who goes to the Black Friday sales (or whatever you call the Thursday openings) and I will admit it that I am no stranger to the chaos although I have never waited in line to get into a store.

I can understand the need for a good deal and with Thanksgiving over it is natural for retailers to capitalize on the next big holiday on the horizon… Christmas. However, Black Friday does not mark the debut of the decorations, displays, cards, or freaking music. All of that holiday gaudiness begins creeping out right after Halloween.

At this point, I am pretty sick of it. It is too much, too soon, and it has to stop. Growing up I loved the Christmas season and I recall the sights, sounds, and music immediately surrounding the big day. Immediately surrounding, not the surrounding months. What has happened over the years?

While it is not my chosen celebration in my adult life, it is still a season that surrounds us. The message is positive and people are generally in a good mood but let’s stop trying to extend the season every year. Let’s go back to simple way that it should be and start all of the extravagance just after Thanksgiving. Actually, start it on Thanksgiving as it used to be. When Santa comes down the street on the float, the holiday season has officially begun.

So, sit back and enjoy the holiday season. Enjoy the fact that you are allowed to blame the dog for your farts for an entire month. Embrace the gifting ability to pick favorites in the family without saying a word. Reminisce about the days when Chevy Chase was funny and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (snicker, snicker, snicker).

And, finally, enjoy your one day late in the year… long after we celebrated our eight days of Hanukkah (we will be celebrating while you are just starting your shopping). You might have missed the beginning since we don’t have a lot of songs to mark the holiday because we were too busy writing Christmas songs. By the way… O J Simpson, still not a Jew.

Don’t Mess With Granny On Game Day...

...and don't mess with mama either!

Like many work places during this time of year, the football pool is in full swing. It might be the only reason why I watch football these days. I don’t have the time to dedicate to the hours of penalties, dropped passes, missed tackles, and general ineptitude (I’m an Eagles fan) but I enjoy the fallout on Monday morning when those who were certain they would win are at the bottom of the list. It is all in good fun and win or lose it gives everyone some cheap entertainment over the weekend.

What has been especially entertaining for me this year is the diversity of the people participating. Young and old, men and women, everyone seems to be having a good time selecting their teams and humorously questioning the decisions of others. The only part that is not enjoyable is the fact that we can’t pick our hometown team or else we forfeit a win for the week (again, I am an Eagles fan).

Many would assume that all the young guys would be the ones that lend certain intensity to the game and in most places where I have been a part of the game you would be correct. That is definitely not the case this year. All the younger participants seem to be the most laid back on Monday morning.

The older men are pretty calm during the week when they are making picks and that generally carries through the weekend. Come Monday morning some of them can be a little testy if they didn’t fare well. They are the middle of the road players.

However, the ones that you don’t want to mess with are the older ladies in the building. The greater their age the more intense they are. Don’t mess with granny on game day!

Being that they are retired, these women spend what I assume to be hours looking up player stats and breaking down the matchups for the week. I guess when Atlantic City gets too cold it’s time to focus on football. Needless to say, if you see them on Monday morning tread very lightly because if they had a bad week they will take you out (the Eagles defense could learn a lot from them).

I’m actually kind of curious what it’s like when they’re watching the football game. At the same time I don’t want to risk being in their presence when the mood changes and the Eagles inevitably start getting the snot beat out of them. I especially don’t want to be around this weekend when they play Denver. I don’t know why they get so intense about the game. Maybe it’s the gambling side of things but it might just be that there is something wrong with their medulla oblongata.