Anne Marie was the one that figured it out.
There was something we couldn't help but notice as we drove around Campbell and walked into the Target. Not too surprisingly, all the Halloween stuff (well, what little there was left) had been cleared and dumped into 75% off bins, and in their place were hanging Season's Greetings cruft.
Ok, one Season in particular, the one that involves buying crap, fat guys with a penchant for red, and snowflakes because, well, the snow is what everyone is reminded of as they start to watch the leaves change and fall and football season starts.
Seriously, what the hell happened to Thanksgiving? i mean, if i'm not mistaken, Veteran's Day is coming up and with a war going on and all the yellow ribbons on the SUVs, good to see that holiday getting some long deserved recognition.
Anne Marie gets credit because she figured out that's the reason everyone feels so darned rushed. We remember what it was like (heck) five years ago when they rolled out the full-on holiday crap the third week of November at the earliest. If it wasn't for Halloween generating fairly high levels of cash in it's own right, i'd expect the stores to be decorated for Christmas come Labor Day. Ho-Ho-Ho, toss off those thongs folks, time to shop for Christmas! Heck, in some respects, thank God we're in an election year otherwise the TV would be running non-stop commercials telling us that we need to buy our loved ones a Lexus, otherwise they're leading a life of abject cruelty.
Subtlety is a dead art.
i'm tempted to give the true gift of the Holidays this year. One that won't just line some corporate pocket. One that has deep meaning for both the giver and receiver and is guaranteed to light up anyone's face on Christmas morning. One that will always fit and never be returned.
A wad of cash.
'Tis the Season, whether you like it or not.
