My wife charges that I am a Scrooge this time of year. After rereading that sentence, I realize that
some would say “why is this time of year different than other times…you are a
curmudgeon most of the time.” CURMUDGEON: a person (especially an old
man) who is easily annoyed or angered and who often complains.
So, while I can’t
do much about the “old man” part, I certainly try not to be easily annoyed or angered and I really don’t complain
a whole lot. But, granted, historically,
this has not been my favorite time of year.
It wasn’t always
like that though. But, most of my
business career was as a retailer – more specifically, toy retailing and then
sporting goods retailing. Is it any
wonder that I was super stressed this time of year? About half of my yearly business took place
during the Holiday Season…these 4 or 5 weeks either made me a hero or caused me
serious trouble. Ah, but I really don’t
have to worry about Christmas sales any longer.
As a retailer, my favorite old joke about Christmas was this:
The third grade class came back to school
after Christmas break and the teacher asked each child to get up and tell what
they did on Christmas Day. First up was
Sally Johnson: “Well, teacher, we are Presbyterian. On Christmas morning we got up very early,
ran downstairs and saw that Santa had visited.
We opened all of our presents, ate a big breakfast and then climbed into
the car to go to church. Once there, we
sang Oh How I Love Thee Jesus.” Next to
speak was little Joseph Murphy: “ We are
Catholic and on Christmas morning we got up very early, got dressed and piled
into the car to go to early Christmas Mass.
At Mass, we sing Oh How We Love Thee Jesus and then hurried home to eat
a big Christmas breakfast and open all of the presents that Santa had brought.” Finally it was Abie Goldberg’s turn to
speak: “We are Jewish. On Christmas morning we all slept in and once
we finally awoke, we had a big brunch and then piled into the car to go
downtown to Grandpa’s Toy Store. Once
there, we walked up and down the aisles looking at the empty shelves and sang
Oh How We Love Thee Jesus.”
My earliest
memories of The Holiday Season were ones of slight confusion. I knew we were Jewish and celebrated Chanukah
during that time of year. We did not
have a Christmas tree nor did we hang any Christmas lights. My Dad even did the shtick about Santa
landing on the wrong house every year.
But somehow, when we woke on Christmas morning there were always a few
presents displayed around the living room.
Looking back, I guess my Mom just loved the magic of the year, and
didn’t want her little ones left out, but it was always kind of confusing to
me. So, that’s why we never did anything
like that with our kids. As a matter of
fact, I picked up my Dad’s shtick and it has become expected of me every year:
Sometimes in the early part of Christmas
Eve, when the family is all gathered, I jump up out of my chair and ask: “did you hear that noise? Sounds like something on the roof.” I fling open the front door, run out into the
yard and look up at our roof and exclaim:
“I don’t care who you are, get those damn reindeer off my roof. You want the family next door.” When our kids were very young, they would get
a wide-eyed expression on their face…but, alas, when they got outside, Santa
would have already left.
I once wondered
if our kids would understand why other kids had Christmas and they didn’t, until
I overheard 3-year-old Lisa tell her friend: “ Santa doesn’t come to my house
because we are Chanukah, not Christmas!”
Actually,
(shhh…don’t tell anybody), I now enjoy this time of year. Things seem to slow down just a little bit in
December, it is nice to spend time with friends, plenty of football is on and for the last 13 years, I have run a
little College Football Bowl Pool. This
year we have 103 participants and give part of the proceeds to a charitable
foundation of which I am quite fond!
However, since we
live in South Florida, we have to contend with the yearly influx of Seasonal
Residents (Snowbirds and Snowflakes).
Roads are clogged, restaurants are difficult to get in to and many part
timers really are curmudgeons! But, I guess that is the price we pay for
living in paradise.
Wishing all of
our friends and family a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Peaceful Kwanza and a
Happy and Healthy New Year to all!
And The Journey continues...................
And The Journey continues...................
