Usually, I try to keep the Christmas season from starting too soon at our house. This year, though, I've been lenient. Kim's been playing Christmas music in the car since last weekend. Our outside Christmas lights have already been hung. And, instead of watching the Ravens game last night, Jay and I watched "Elf." (We let Kim and Hannah borrow our man cards while they watched the game.)
So, it's safe to say that I've been getting into the Christmas spirit early this year. According to this morning's headlines, it seems like I'm not alone. From all across America, there were heartwarming stories of peace, joy, and goodwill towards man taking place in the parking lots and store aisles of our shopping malls. Of course, I'm talking about pepper spraying, shootings, and armed robberies.
Shopping should be a necessary evil, not a leisure activity. With Black Friday, though, it seems like shopping has moved beyond being a simple leisure activity and has become a competition. It's all about how early the stores open, how big the "deals" are, and how you can walk away with more than your fellow shopper. But, getting into arguments and shooting the other people who are waiting in line with you while waiting for the store to open at midnight? Pepper spraying your fellow shoppers to keep them away from "your" stuff? Hanging out in parking lots at 2AM to rob people walking out of Wal-Mart? Seriously? This is what Christmas has become?
For the last few years, Hannah and I have gone to the mall each Christmas Eve. We don't go to shop. We go to watch other people shop. It's fun. Believe it or not, there's never any panic at the mall. People are calm, smiling, and in good spirits. It's pretty boring. In fact, the Christmas Eve outing has become so uneventful that, this year, we actually talked about going out on Black Friday to see what that was like. It never crossed my mind that, if we went, I might need to bring my shotgun.
P.S. I need to thank Hannah. While I've been writing this, she's been switching back-and-forth between the annual Pitt - WVU "Backyard Brawl" on ESPN and "Say Yes to the Dress - Bridesmaids" on TLC. I may have just found a new favorite show. Drama, cattiness, and sheer stupidity. "Say Yes to the Dress" has it all. Each time Hannah switched back to the football game, I had to fight the urge to tell her to please go back. Somewhere deep inside I must have some testosterone left because the actual words never came out of my mouth.
This is where the magic happens.
