November 25, 2009

Today is the day before Thanksgiving. It is called the Biggest Travel Day of the Year. From here on every important day has a name.

Friday is Black Friday, for the shopping deals. The following Monday I think is Hi Tech Day for the computer and electronic deals.

Oh, there is Christmas somewhere, but that's not important. It only gets in the way of the special shopping days.

Day after Christmas Day is Boxing Day in England and within the good old British Empire but here it is the Return Day. That's when everybody return the stupid presents they got and hate.

When I was growing up in the "Old Country" people were able to do their Christmas shopping normally. I mean between Monday and Saturday noon. The last Sunday before Christmas was called Gold Sunday. That was the only time stores were allowed to be open on a Sunday.

And that was not a christian country by any means. So, interfering with going to church was not an issue. People just didn't want to spend their time on Sunday shopping.

If my memory serves me right here in this country nothing was open on Sunday until about 30 years ago.

Then some enterprising capitalist discovered that hey, if we are open on Sunday we might make more money. And then it begun.

I'm not saying it is not a success. We are so used to it that if we find ourselves in a county or country where there are no Sunday openings we tend to get upset.

I love to go on vacation to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. This island happens to be a favorite cruise ship stop and I don't blame the cruise ships. It is a beautiful island.

Shopping is geared for the tourists, primarily for the cruise passengers. The local law doesn't permit stores to be open on Sundays. Being a devout christian island I can appreciate their reasoning. However as the saying goes "money talks". If and when cruise ships are in port on Sunday all the stores are permitted to be open.

I guess they figure they make up the church going on a quiet day when there are no ships in port.

The same thinking applies to alcohol. Up to some years ago one could not purchase alcohol on a Sunday. Food stores in New York State could not sell beer until noon.

Years ago we liked to vacation in Georgia, on Jekyll Island. On Sunday with brunch one could not get a good bloody mary. This was a bible belt state where they took this law very seriously. Or did they? We went there for a few years and later on it turned out that hotels and resorts were exempted from this no alcohol rule.

I think by now the whole thing went out the window and one can get filthy drunk before, during or after church.

So what's my point?

I'm not advocating the return to blue laws. All I'm saying is that everything is driven by money. The driving force behind our everyday life is big business' need to make more and more money off us.

If it takes opening at midnight after Thanksgiving or staying open 24 or 26 hours non-stop let it be. If the crowd would trample each other to death in their mad rush for the so called "bargains" let it be.

On the long run its only a few lives. But the profit column will look better, the stockholders will be happy and that's what counts.

Have a nice Thanksgiving!