Tis The Season

Black Friday has come and gone and today, which might be better known as Green Monday has come and at the time of this writing, is nearly past … along with an approximate $1.5 Billion dollars in sales to promote that single greatest Anglo Saxon holiday, Christmas. There will be plenty of articles reminding us of the real meaning of Christmas for those that are a believer in that particular religion(s) and for others, well, it’s just a great holiday to celebrate and give gifts of love and affection to anyone and everyone they know. Green Monday? It certainly represents one thing that most of us aren’t particularly fond of and that’s dealing with the throng of crowds of rude and inconsiderate people, pushing, shoving, cursing, and completely miserable as they fulfill those holiday “requirements” of love.

So what’s the downside of Green Monday? Well, consider this. As the economy swings towards on line shopping, some retailers have already figured out how remarkably unimportant an actual store is. After all, has anyone actually been to a Amazon Store? Not me and not you either, in fact when you consider just how much faith and trust is put into the value and qualify of merchandise we can acquire with a few keystrokes, well, I wonder how many things are bought, are a complete disappointment, and are never returned because it’s just too much trouble?

Of course, internet shopping is just a repetition on an old theme. The original Sears Roebuck catalog featured the exact same thing … just not quite as fast and of course returns could take …. Months or longer! Of course, during that time having a dollar to one’s name was quite impressive and people were not quite as willing to waste them or just toss a bad purchase.

Fortunately Amazon has seen the wisdom of a healthy and considerate return policy, which like the old Sears Roebuck theme of “satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back” captured the imagination and respect of the country. We’ll be watching Amazon to see how long they maintain this policy or will they eventually see their own demise the same way Sears did, the victim of perhaps a few too many Professional Sears Customers, that knew how to play the system to get a lot more than their money’s worth. And one has to wonder how long Americans will be fascinated with this new phenomenon before they realize they don’t get to put their hands on the merchandise before they buy. Imagine doing that with your next car purchase …. And homes? Sears used to sell houses through the catalog … oh yes, anything you can imagine is possible.

Or maybe … just maybe as we go through all these trends, one more small trend might emerge. The trend to remember this season is about the birth of one small child and how profound his birth, life, and death so completely changed an entire civilization.

If I could have just one wish it would be for all mankind and their respective religious beliefs to have this time of year to celebrate one simple thing. A thing without religious significance, without religious rules and laws, without restrictions or directions. Just one very simple thing …..

Love