Good Morning and welcome to the storm!

Yeah, it's all of a sudden cold out there, but it apparently is hot in the malls.
You know, it used to be that the day after Thanksgiving was kind of fun. You went to the mall (or store), saw some decent sales, maybe picked up a few gifts, had lunch and went home.
Now, it's apparently an event. People camp out in front of stores. There are lines hours before they open.
Just so you could get a jump on the junk buying, WalMart was open all day Thanksgiving (although, who really buys at WalMart?).
There are even fights over the final $20 Elmo doll. I (and somebody much smarter than me) wander if this is strickly a phenomenon in the USA or is it all over the world.
Is all this craziness really neccessary.
Whenever I see the lines and the people I am reminded of the Charlie Brown Christmas show. We have lost something in the buy, buy, buy times we find ourselves living.
Then again, Best Buy has a $20 camera. I have to go...

Good Morning and welcome to the busiest month of the year!

Anybody who doubts that needs to break down their time and see just how busy they actually are. With shopping, wrapping, decorating, oh yeah, and working, there is barely enough time to breath. We keep hearing about how everybody should just take a step back and enjoy the season, but that's not possible.
It's always run, run, run. Then run some more. We have to get it done. We can't disappoint. We needed to be there five minutes ago and we are five minutes away. The traffic is horrible. The lines are worse. Other people are pushy and rude. Sure, they are smiling, but they are also trying to get the last Wii before you see it behind the Barbies. So, don't dare reach for the Barbie.
Was it always this way? Are we so far into our need for material things we can't just relax, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and tell stories. Did cavemen fight each other for the pretty rock?
Probably. After all, you can't disappoint.
I do know one thing for sure, though. If we are really in a recession like everybody is telling us, you couldn't tell that over the weekend at the mall. The cars were packed in early and they stayed late. The attacked the stores. Threw things on the floor that didn't fit and overwhelmed the checkout counters. There was a lot of money spent this weekend.
So, you know, if you don't have it already, better get out there soon.
Hey, at least you don't live next door to this guy:


If you have any cool links or photos, send them along to onlindelco@gmail.com