THE LAST FIVE ...

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Music of the moment
- Wednesday, March 1, 2006

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101 in 1001
American Road Trip, 1998


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2000-11-09 - 00:12:21

Christmas comes but once a month

I checked today, and ... yeah, no, it's not Christmas yet.

Though the mall and all its stores would have you think otherwise.

I stopped by the mall on my way to work because I was far from home having not been able to find where a friend's high school soccer game was supposed to be played (apparently Princeton High School does not play its home games on the high school campus), and I had time to kill. I got some junk food in the food court and when I was finished decided to stroll around the mall. My only purchase was a birthday card for my sister, and a spare one that made me laugh, because you never know when you're going to forget someone's birthday lying on the other side of the calendar on which you haven't turned the page.

But walking into the card store, I stepped right into the red and green overkill of Christmas retail joy. Ornaments and pieces for various tiny winter village models lined both walls, and boxes upon boxes of Christmas cards occupied the shelves (I did see some pretty funny ones, though). A full aisle to the register in the center of the store was dedicated to individual Christmas and holiday cards. I had to walk in a few circles before I found the amusing birthday cards.

No matter how early they try to tell us that Christmas begins, I can't seem to bring myself into the spirit until Thanksgiving has arrived. I've always associated those two holidays, and for me, Christmas begins when I wake up on the last Thursday morning of November and can already smell the beginnings of dinner in the kitchen.

But at the malls and all the other stores, Christmas comes earlier each year. The music stores have their bins of CDs and movies out, the department stores have their trees and lights set up. The toy stores have their displays out. And, most prominent, each shopping mall has its North Pole village recreation constructed right smack dab in the middle of the busiest intersection.

I love Christmas, I do, but I need to get through some other things -- the fallen leaves on the ground, the milder autumn days, the traditional Thanksgiving Day and weekend matchups in college and high school football (when you work at a newspaper, these things are important).

I will be ready for Christmas, just don't rush me.

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