By Nellie Curtiss …
Did you shop until you dropped yesterday? Some of CBS News was dedicated to play-by-play deals with big box store shopping straits.
I prefer hearing what the weather has going on as I tune to weather segments with flashy show-and-tell media. We’ve had serious cold snaps here in the Valley and the community cats’ water dish freezes even at noon with the sun rays streaming, nevertheless. Lifelike animation of the snow accumulation or the high tide in Florida beat out all the back aches of in-person shopping, for me.
Did you shop until you dropped? Or did you pick a news article about Indigenous People Day to read or a book to travel to the ancient shores of Ireland with? The weekend after Turkey Day seems most appropriate for lollygagging about as opposed to tilling the discount tables at big box stores. Soaking up a mystery or period piece seems the happier choice to fighting for the deepest discounts on flat screen TVs.
Did you shop until you dropped? Or did you pull out some watercolors or oils to conjure a breath of fresh air or a pasture with a donkey jogging and braying? I’ve long preferred a hand rubbed construction paper card to all the store-bought bobbles and games that end up in the cupboard above the refrigerator. Shopping has its place, I suppose, as our economy seems so tied to commercialism. But, I think, I’ve been overdoing it in years past, and now find myself considering what handmade gift I might create especially for family and friends.
Yes, we live in digital days and shopping until we drop has moved online in some instances. Still, with Covid and uptick in RSV cases, CBS reports that many customers are choosing to shop online to avoid the close quarters of shopping. CBS also reports that 114 million Americans ploughed through businesses like JC Penney’s, Walmart’s, Target’s, Sears’, Nordstrom’s, and Macy’s front doors on Black Friday, yesterday. And they say that’s up from years’ past. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of those consumers.
I can remember the hours that my mom gathered fabric up to push across the Singer Sewing Machine as she worked a McCall or Simplicity pattern for holiday dresses. She also hid in her bedroom with the small machine whirring along as she crafted outfits for new Mattel Barbie Dolls. We weren’t allowed to disturb her, though we wondered what she was sewing up a storm for.
Shopping until dropping doesn’t seem so advantageous anymore, no matter what season it is. It’s better to put our soul at the core.
— Nellie Curtiss is a retired college educator and long-time local columnist. Reach her at http://www.columnsbynellie.com or email her at columnsbynellie@gmail.com
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