Perspective, A Fairy Tale.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago a whole bunch of businesses owners and managers reviewed office productivity for the day following Thanksgiving. The productivity review showed that between scheduled days off, "sick calls", out of town visitors and overstuffed employees, the day after Thanksgiving wasn't very productive at work. So the wise businesses owners closed the businesses the day after Thanksgiving. The employees received an extra holiday, although not every employee got a paid holiday.

With an extra day off work and gift giving holidays just around the corner, many of the employees spent the new holiday shopping. Wise retailers started to offer "extra-special specials", encouraging shoppers to come into the "we have specials" stores. It seemed the stores were busier in the afternoon, so the better specials were in the morning. Some specials were limited to the first few hours the stores were open. Some stores even started opening early on this extra holiday, some as early as 6 A.M.

source: morgueFile

As more and more stores started opening early with "extra special quantity limited" specials, the extra holiday was named Black Friday. Some wise store owners and managers realized that shoppers have a limited amount of money to spend. These wise store owners and managers began to offer "really extra special specials with extremely limited quantities" and opened their stores at 4 A.M.  The "really extra special specials prices with extremely limited quantities" were dubbed "Door Busters". Many shoppers started lining up at 2 A.M. or earlier to buy these "Door Busters." It began to seem that Black Friday was becoming more important than Thanksgiving.

source: Wikipedia

After a while Black Friday shoppers and store owners became more obsessed with Door Busters and profits. Stores started opening earlier (2 A.M., midnight, 10 P.M. on Thanksgiving) and some shoppers were trampled to death trying to but the Door Busters. Employees at the stores really didn't have much of a Thanksgiving and some people started to plan their Thanksgiving around their Black Friday. It seemed that what was once a wonderful extra holiday had lost it's luster.

The moral is yet to be determined except that I shouldn't write any more fairy tales. Enjoy your post Thanksgiving turkey salad, turkey sandwiches, turkey croquettes, turkey soup and turkey omelettes.

Any thoughts about Black Friday?

It Only Hurts When I Laugh.

The title of the post is the punch line of an old joke and the title of a not-as-old autobiography. The author and subject of the autobiography is one of the funniest people in America: 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's radio, comedy, cartoon and advertising legend, Stan Freberg.

source: last.fm

Freberg is the son of a Baptist minister. He generates his laughs with no profanity, using satire like a rubber mallet to make his point. Freberg's description of the depth of the relationship between Columbus and Queen Isabella is truly masterful.  As an ad man, his campaigns for Chun King Chow Mein, Jeno's Pizza Rolls and Sunsweet Prunes are legendary. So why Freberg today? This week?

As I posted Friday, the holidays bring joy but often stress accompanies that joy. Laughter is the best medicine. So take a moment and enjoy this great Freberg Thanksgiving nugget, Pilgrim's Progress/Double Turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Seasonal Stress.

Home for the holidays. The sentence invokes images of Norman Rockwell prints or Currier and Ives plates. These idyllic portraits are great but holiday time isn’t perfect for everyone.  The holidays can be stressful even in the strongest families, especially when dealing with a recent death. With this in mind, here are some practical guidelines for loss/death related holiday stress:

source: Wikipedia

• If this is the 1^st set of holidays after a death: You may notice the new absence when your loved one’s “specialty” occurs: (ex: making the stuffing, carving the turkey, putting up the tree, serving home-made pies or just sitting in a recliner watching TV all day).  You might cry, or not. The holiday may feel the same as last year. It’s also possible you’ll feel nothing, like Novocain without the tingling. Don’t expect a schedule for experiencing new emotions.  Give yourself a break, you’re human. Don’t apologize, no one expects an apology.
• If you’re beyond the first full year cycle, you are not immune to sadness induced stress. Pain related to death does not have a schedule and does not fight fair. There is no announcement of an impending crying jag; no time to protect yourself. This manifestation of grief will hide around the corner and kick you in the face when you least expect it. Don’t fear this pain, embrace it. It comes with the territory.
• Note: If the pain is so great you can’t leave bed for days, you may require professional help. Do not try and solve this problem alone.
• Finally, rely on friends and family. That’s why they are there. 

Over time you will come to understand the source of this stress and though still saddened by the loss, you will smile at the memories.

Happy Holidays. Nominations Are Now Being Taken.

Lest anyone think I might be secularizing a sacred holiday commemorating the birth of their Lord celebrated on December 25, Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays to the rest of us.

Something For Everyone.

source: morgueFile

Halloween is the de facto end of the fall season and with it's passing, the end of year holiday cycle begins. Think about it, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all within 40 days. There is also Hannukah and Kwanzaa. For the pagan community there is the celebration of the winter solstice and Bodhi Day for the Buddhists.  The seasonal fluctuation of the Islamic lunar calendar doesn't leave a Muslim holiday specific to winter. Still, for the Muslims that live and work in the US, at least there are some days off of work. Ditto for the atheists and agnostics. This time of year holds something for everyone, although for Native Americans the season doesn't begin until December (Think about it. Have you ever seen the TV special, "Thanksgiving at the Reservation"?)

Lesser Holidays, At Least In The U.S.

The winter season also includes some recent and/or additional holidays:

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday are retail invented holidays. Hallmark should have the cards out soon.
• There's Boxing Day if you can sell it to your supervisor.
• College Football offers the week long build up to the National Football Championship, with the two highest selected football teams playing each other. I still remember when college football concluded on Jan1. and only four (Cotton, Orange, Sugar and Rose) bowl games were played.
• "Seinfeld" offered Festivus to celebrate...frankly I'm unsure as to what there is to celebrate when the holiday has it's origin in a sitcom about nothing.

Despite the plethora of holidays, and let's face it any day is a good day to skip work and spend with family, I want to add one more.

And One More.

Within a week of Halloween, there is a very special day. It's a day that offers something for almost everyone, yet asks nothing in return. Snooz-a-pa-gain-a is celebrated in the US on the 1st Sunday in November. Precisely at 2:00 AM on the 1st Sunday in November almost everyone in the USA is to set their clocks back one hour. This gives everyone an extra hour of sleep, provided they don't actually get up at 2AM to change their clocks. The technical name of the ceremony of changing the time is called "falling back" (festive, don't you think?). Of course, there is Snooz-a-pa-looz-a in the early spring, but that's months away.

So very early this coming Sunday Morning, don't forget to fall back. Happy Snooz-a-pa-gain-a.

Are there any other should-be holidays you would like to add?

Hallowhen?

As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Bush administration made one of it's wisest decisions of either term (the list of wise decisions of the Bush administration is a short list, but I digress). Beginning in 2007, the end of daylight saving time was pushed back one week, from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November. The big deal? It allowed another hour of daylight for trick or treat. An extra hour of sunlight means it's a bit warmer for trick or treat. It's also one less hour of kids daring between parked cars. Now, it's time to complete the task started in 2005.

source: morgueFile

Consider The Source.

The observance of Halloween has a long history. Here in the western world there is a tie to All Saints Day (November 1) with All Hallows Eve (Halloween, October 31) being the night before All Saints Day.  The modern practice of kids running around the neighborhood collecting a month's worth of sugar fix or college kids dressed in "costumes" that hide nothing is not a celebration of saints or the hallowed. I'm not against kids and candy or college kids and body paint; to each their own. It's time to change the date of the modern celebration of Halloween. Why not the last
Saturday/Sunday/weekend in October?

The Calendar Can Be Changed.

Some of the most sacred days on our calendar are not fixed to a date. Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving do not have a fixed date. For most of my life Veterans Day was celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11.  Washington's Birthday has morphed into Presidents Day, celebrated on the third Monday in February. So why do we have young children out after dark on a school night merely to collect candy?

Disclaimer.

By no means do I espouse changing the day or celebration of All Saints Day and the accompanying All Hallows Eve for those that celebrate All Saints Day. As for the rest of us, move Halloween to the weekend.

Summer Solstice.

Today is the 1st day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Officially it's the Summer Solstice. Many say this is the longest day of the year and they're all wrong. Days are 24 hours along (approx) every day of the year. The Summer Solstice is the day with the more daylight than any other day of the year. Today there will be 15 hours, 16 minutes and 28 seconds of daylight. That's 2 more seconds of daylight than yesterday or tomorrow. It may not sound like much but those 2 seconds become more than 2 seconds and add up quickly. By December those 15 hours 16 minutes 28 seconds of daylight will become 9 hours 5 minutes 10seconds of daylight. 6+ hours of less daylight is significant.

It's been great this month going outside after 8 PM with the sky still light.  July 4th fireworks will wait until after 9 PM to make sure the sky is completely dark.  Soon enough, though the sky will be dark at 7:30 PM, 7 PM and even earlier.  So no matter how grand the Summer Solstice may be it has a melancholy lining. It's a warning that the daylight party is coming to an end.  There is still lots of really really good. Evening barbeques,
backyard firepits and glorious late summer/early fall afternoons. Still, the Summer Solstice warns us that soon enough the cold winter nights will be here. Don't overlook a minute of those long summer days.

I know that I have already reached my Summer Solstice. Whether I'm between July 4th and Labor Day or between Labor Day and Halloween is unknown. I hope I'm not yet close to Thanksgiving or Christmas. I still have too much left to accomplish, too much left I want to experience. For me the Summer Solstice is a reminder reminder to cherish every day. It's important I make every day count. Not only must I recognize each ray of sunshine, I must seek out those rays of sunshine. Whether I like it or not Winter will find me. Winter is always a bit easier with great summer memories.