Skip to main content

Christmas Online

I’ve found the Norelco commercials for this Christmas season!

It seems like yesterday, Santa cruising down the snow-filled slopes on his triple-head Norelco electric shaver. Before your time? No problem they’re on YouTube - of course. Now Santa is selling you a luxury sports car (A red BMW).

Have you noticed how fast time flies as you get up in years? We’re already into November, Thanksgiving in just two days! And yes, “Christmas - is - just around the corner.”

Do you have this years tree? If not, you can order your fresh Christmas Tree Online and have it delivered to your home. Shopping Online is not just one day anymore. Deep discount sales start one-week before Thanksgiving. According to Foursquare, the check-in app turned location intelligence company, Black Friday crowds are expected to decrease by 3.5 percent compared to last year.

And once again REI is closed for Black Friday. I salute them. Do you think others will eventually follow suit?

 As a youngster I was convinced - just around the corner - meant Main Street; Marshall’s Hardware - Santa Land. My brothers and I would take a walk to town to see all the holiday decorations and toys we wanted Santa to bring. Day-and-Palin’s was the only Christmas tree lot that I can remember in Cuba, Illinois. Waiting for Christmas, seemed like an eternity. The toys have morphed somehow, instead of a Daisy BB gun, or a G.I. Joe, now it’s a new smart phone, Apple TV,  jewelry, tools, clothes, iTunes gift cards, and home repair items. Today, just around the corner reminds us; in the blink of an eye the holidays will have come and gone.

Come to think of it, how would Charles Schulz have written A Charlie Brown Christmas today?

“I suggest we try your iPhone, Charlie Brown,” would have led Charlie Brown and Linus to Google Maps to search for fresh trees. Come to think of it, I'm quite sure Linus would have checked with Siri first.

It’s hard to believe A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired - December 1965. Admittedly, it’s still one of my favorite holiday programs. I make it a point to watch it every year. Things have changed a lot over the years but the commercialism that Schultz and others portrayed still exists today more than ever.

Now the statement, “Christmas is just around the corner.” is accompanied with “Have you finished your Christmas shopping?” – No, have you?

Yes, Christmas - is - just around the corner; if you still think it’s about shopping till you’re broke, I’m sorry. Please take some time this holiday season and listen to Linus’s sonorous voice as he recites from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2 verses 8 through 14 from the Authorized King James Version:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.”

 . . . “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”

 Whatever you're looking for there’s probably an App for that.

 Merry Christmas!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

When Fear Becomes the Default

In this special episode, When Fear Becomes the Default. Early Sunday morning, I was cycling past a small veterans’ pocket park in San Marcos. The air was still, the streets nearly empty. On one corner stood a young woman, alone, holding a hand-painted sign that read: “Be ANGRY. ICE agents are murdering people.” I pedaled past, but the words stayed with me. I knew the context—the footage and headlines from Minneapolis the day before, already ricocheting through the country and hardening opinions. Even in the quiet of the ride, the noise followed. Two miles later, I stopped at a red light. A black car with dark windows pulled up inches from my bike. My heart jumped. My first instinct wasn’t neighbor —it was threat . I found myself bracing, scanning, and wondering if the person inside was angry, armed, or looking for trouble. Then the door opened. A well-dressed young woman stepped out, walked to the trunk, and pulled out a sign that read “Open House.” She turned, smiled brightly, and sa...
2 comments
Read more

Sweden Called . . . They Said No.

Have you ever wondered about  the Nobel Prize? Let's look at Where Genius Meets “Wait—Where’s My Medal?” Every October, the Nobel Prizes are announced, and humanity pauses to celebrate the "greatest benefit to mankind." And every year, like clockwork, a specific type of person appears online to complain—at length—that they were robbed. (Well, maybe this year more than most.) The Origin: A Legacy of Guilt The prize exists because Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, had a crisis of conscience. Nobel held 355 patents, but he was most famous for inventing dynamite. When a French newspaper mistakenly published his obituary, calling him the " Merchant of Death, " he decided to buy a better legacy. In his 1895 will, he left the bulk of his massive fortune to establish five prizes (Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace). Because he was Swedish, he entrusted the selection to Swedish institutions, such as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The only outlier...
1 comment
Read more

The Language of Home: Building a Sanctuary

This episode is  for anyone trying to find their footing in a new place—whether it’s a new city, a new job, or a new country. The light in Florence, Italy, has a way of making everything feel like a Renaissance painting—the golden hue on the stone, the steady rhythm of the Arno River, and the feeling that you are walking through a history much larger than yourself. I was there to give a presentation to a class of Gemology students. I was prepared to discuss color grading and refractive indices, but not to be outed as a language tutor . Feeling very much like a guest in a storied land, a hand shot up enthusiastically. "You’re the guy on the podcasts," the young woman said, her eyes bright with recognition. "You’re the one teaching us English." I laughed nervously. If you know my flat Midwestern accent, you know the irony here. I am hardly an Oxford professor. But later, as I wandered the cobblestone streets beneath the shadow of the Duomo, the humor faded into a powe...
Post a Comment
Read more

On the Fly–Taking Flight

In this special 500th episode,  On the Fly  is moving to a new home. Here’s why—and what’s staying the same. For a very long time (since April 2012),  On the Fly  has lived on  Blogger . Blogger has been a reliable host—dependable, quiet, and never complaining when I arrived late with another half-baked idea, a guitar riff, or a story that needed a little air. It faithfully archived my thoughts, my music, and more than a decade of curiosity. But the internet has changed. It’s louder now. Flashier. More insistent. Every thought is nudged to perform. Every sentence wants to be optimized, monetized, or interrupted by something that really wants your attention right this second. I’ve been craving the opposite. So today, On the Fly is moving to Substack . If you’ve been with me for a while, you know my quiet obsession: the A rt of Seeing . I’m interested in the moments we rush past—the Aversion Trap, the discipline hidden inside a guitarist’s daily practice, t...
Post a Comment
Read more