There was a time when...

This blog article will date me but with the rapidly graying of the hair that is left on my head, weakening eye sight and achy bones, why deny the fact that I am aging?  I grew up in a different world when it came to the holiday season.  I suppose that is why I am a ‘holiday purist.’  I believe in taking them one at a time.

When I had graduated high school in 1977, I worked two jobs.  I was an apprentice with Berkley Repertory Theater and a full time stock clerk at J. C. Penny.  Both were great entry level jobs.  I didn’t go to college right out of the shoot but rather hit life head on.  Learning to pay rent, cooking for myself, the whole nine yards.

At JC Penny, I was on the crew that was selected to set up all the Christmas decorations.  So what you may wonder?  Well, the so what was I had to come in on the morning of what is now called “Black Friday” at 3 am in the store to set up the decorations.   That is how old school I am when it comes to all of this.  We opened an hour earlier that day, at 8 am.

There was no confusion back then.  Each holiday had a specific purpose and there was general focus.  We celebrated Thanksgiving together as families.  Then we pulled out the decorations and went into the Christmas season.

Lines are blurred across the board now days.  It’s the effects that post modernism and the push by the merchandisers that has whittled down to the masses.  We now associate Thanksgiving with that day in the way of all the ‘hot deals’.  We are encouraged to get our running shoes on and put on our pushing gloves as we all head to the malls and box stores to find the great days now available on Thanksgiving evening.

It all greatly saddens me and is actually troubling to me on so many levels.  If I speak out against it I get the label ‘Grinch’ stuck to my forehead.

Recently the popular late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel ran a satirical piece in which he was mocking the media across the country who was trying to introduce the term “Brown Thursday”.  He mockingly said it already has name, its called Thanksgiving.

I will always be a holdout for Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for in my life its worth at least taking one day, brushing off all the other holiday hype and be singled focused.

The Christmas lights and tree go up the next day.   As it should be.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers and friends.