The Seasonal Sneak Attack

It's snowing. It's snowed off and on today. First just a few flakes and then it gradually turned into real snow showers. It's lake effect snow, generated by northwest winds pulling moisture off the Great Lakes and depositing it downstate in the form of the dreaded hexagonal crystal structures where no two are alike. They're pretty, but not entirely expected or wanted for another few weeks.

But, they're starting to gather their forces. They come down separately now and don't linger. They're reconnaisance snowflakes, checking for the presence of snow tires on cars, readiness of plows and snow blowers, not to mention adequate amounts of salt and sand. They bring premature joy and hope to every kid looking to get out of class at least once this school year. They bring heavy sighs and shakes of heads from adults who have to deal with them.

They drop and then disappear. But they'll be back and they'll be bringing reinforcements. Their numbers will be counted by weather geeks like myself when they return, maybe not as individual flakes, but certainly the collective depth of their fallen frozen water bodies. They're snow -- be afraid.

Or grab a handful of them, compress them into a ball, take aim and fire. Embrace the season or linger in the depths of seasonal affective disorder until spring. Your choice.

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And in a cross-referencing blog moment:

More winter silliness

The Pre-Black Friday Blues

And now, release the shoppers and let the Black Friday shopping begin!

Oh wait, they already did -- on Thanksgiving morning.

You know, I don't care that the store CEOs, etc. who made the executive decision for early Thanksgiving opening are calling it a trial run and that they won't do it again if it doesn't go well. They already know starting the holiday shopping frenzy on Thanksgiving is a successful sales boost gimmick because it's been happening for a few years now. They just decided to push the envelope and make a much deeper excursion into a day when their employees should be having some rest and relaxation away from the time clock. They claim to make it acceptable by only having the store open for a few hours in the morning, letting their workers go home for a few hours to family, friends, food and football, then having them return for the main event later in the day.

Greed fuels this decision. Greed for bargains by consumers, greed for profit by management/owners and stockholders. They say they need this extra advantage to stay ahead of the competition. But if other companies follow suit, as some are likely to, the advantage of this even earlier opening of the holiday gift hunting season will quickly be lost. Might as well just stay open 24/7/365, like L. L. Bean decided to do long ago.

I've made this argument before, that holidays are losing their meaning in the face of crass commercialism. Retail stores are not essential services like fire fighters, police and medical workers. Having no "down time" may help keep a business open and people employed, but the negative impact beyond the dollar signs is far from small in terms of what it does to family and community.

Capitalism may be the Great American Way, but at what price?

Promoting the Other Blog for a Good Cause

Usually, I'll promote this blog on my LiveJournal blog.  This time, it's the other way around. 

Thought for the Day - Scouting for Food 2012

I've blogged about the Scouting for Food event here previously.  It's still an annual effort near and dear to my heart and this is my online way of helping out.