“I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to.” 

~ Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

By the time you read this column, many of you will be recovering from a big Thanksgiving meal with friends or family; maybe hitting stores on Black Friday for all the over-trumpeted sales.

Not me — you won’t catch me near a store on that day. Bargains, forget it. There is nothing I want that badly, nor want to give someone, that is worth it. Who in their right mind wants to get up at 3 a.m. to line up, freezing, at some big box store glaring with fluorescent lights to load a cart to the gills and run over other shoppers: sometimes a fight to the death according to various news reports over the years as the tradition grows. I never have understood this kind of madness. To make it even worse, you have to pay for all that stuff in the long run!

Maybe it’s my innate Taurean nature, but I don’t enjoy insane crowds, fighting over plastic things or trying to beat everybody to the prize. Heck, let someone else have it. Seems to me the real gift is sitting around the table, sharing food, love, maybe a football game or two … just being aware of what matters most. That is indeed “some small place of enchantment to turn to.”

Pages: 1 2 Next page

More Columnists

Polk County circle of giving

Should we pay the babysitter?

Caught off-guard by casual couch proposal

Staying safe during the holidays

Print Article