Catching Idle Butterflies

I choose

The so-called Christmas season starts earlier every year. There is but one word to blame it all on: Consumerism. We could blame it all on companies needing to reach the black line of their profit margins, but also people want to start spending their money sooner to beat the "Christmas Rush."

This was never more evident with the release of the new Playstation. You must read David McClain 's entry "Invalid Entry" , because he expressed perfectly how I feel about the whole sordid situation. And that's only the start, I fear. We have turned, as a country, into a bunch of spoiled, impatient brats. Good lord, it's not as though Playstation isn't going to continue making the thing. Waiting until after the first of the year ain't gonna kill no one, and judging from all the robbings and shootings over this little piece of electronic wiring and plastic, it might just save your life . . . or at least your sanity. And guess what? The price always goes down when the demand goes down!

Last year I decided to sit Christmas out. Seeing Christmas commercials air the day after Halloween sickened me, and I said, "Enough! I hate Christmas!" I decided to go nowhere and buy no gifts. The only money I spent was on a box of Christmas cards.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find religious Christmas cards today?

But that's off-subject.

I asked others not to send me anything, though that didn't work out so well. I still received a few gifts, dang it. Ha! How's that for gratitude ?

This year, I decided to think differently about the Christmas season. I'm not going to hate Christmas, grumbling my way through it. Nope. I'm going to simply ignore it. No one can determine how I react to Christmas but me. It means whatever I want it to mean. I don't have to watch the commercials. I don't have to read the ads in the newspaper, or listen to the "You can't miss this sale!" radio commercials.

Gifts, however, I'm still undecided. I hate purchasing gifts for people because some holiday rolls around. It's more obligatory than thoughtful. I always end up stressing myself out trying to find something they would love, in the end buying something silly because I could think of nothing else.

Personally, I appreciate more the gift given on a day other than Christmas or my birthday. That means the person gave because they saw the item, thought of me, and had to buy it. It doesn't matter if it's a $0.50 pen or something more expensive. It truly is the thought that matters most.