My Annual Holiday Rant

The line between holidays just keeps getting more and more blurred. Some stores started Christmas stocking and decorating in late October. If the Christmas music and carols start any earlier I am not going shopping till it's over. Someone else can get the groceries. I am not a Grinch; so to speak, the commercialism of the holiday has done it to me.

 

Which brings us to Veteran's day; which seems some what overlooked with the advent of Christmas at or before Halloween. When I was a kid we looked forward to each of the holidays; each with it own ambiance and period of occurrence. The time between them may have been short but there seemed to be some demarcation. Confused? You must be much younger than me.

 

Back to the veterans who have given so much to our country at great personal sacrifice. It seems a shame that there has been such a need for a grass roots movement to ensure that our vets are cared for and get the benefits they deserve. My question is "Why haven't some of these movers and shakers tried to unify their causes?" Every time I turn around there seems to be a plea for funding for disabled and wounded vets by many disparate organizations. It seems some of these selfless folks could use their valuable time organizing and unifying. I once spent some time in discussion with a crusty Marine vet, trying to get him to support The Wounded Warrior Project. He failed to see the need, stating that that was what Walter Reed and their benefits were for. Perhaps therein lies the problem?

Blockbuster is gone; the last rental went out a few days ago. Talk about crashing and burning-they were flying high in their day. Of course, I still remember-Atari,  Beta Cassettes,  Video Cassettes, Laser discs, vinyl LPs, 8 track, disco (-; , Pan Am (and Air Florida and Eastern), AMC (they made the Gremlin and Matador), Silly Putty, real books, Montgomery Ward, drive in theaters, the Zenith Commander remote with three channels, rabbit ears, pay phones, Etch a Sketch, The Thing toy bank, the Twist (and the Swim and slow dancing without too much contact-we didn't twerk)...Sorry, I got carried away.

Here's hoping you and yours can keep yourself above all the political mayhem, hinky weather, mass shootings, money woes, health woes and general discontent. That way you can better enjoy the season and appreciate that we live in the greatest country on this planet!