It is a truism that if you have all you want and need that you needn’t want any more. This, however, is not the case.  If you ever have gone shopping, despite the hysterical seasons called “THE Holidays”, you are faced with an array of goods that look so good you have to stop and consider that you might want something because it is new and, well, your old one looks a bit seedy after seeing and reading about all the gadgets the new one has.

So, this holiday season we avoided the mall with a vengeance.  We had to go out once and did so early and missed the building hysteria that marks the time that verges sometimes into late evening hours when no business would work its workers past exhaustion. Malls are sometimes nice for viewing others and good eating.

I think that the malls outdid themselves in the attempt to be more Christmassy this year than in previous ones.  I remember my father digging out the obligatory Christmas decorations and putting them on display in windows and on the counters of his Mom and Pop Grocery-cum-delicatessen store.  In those days there was not the competitive Hanukah Menorah and dreidels to accompany the sale of comestibles consumed by Jews on this holiday.  Same goes for Passover – it couldn’t hold a candle against Easter.  Now that the Muslims have a presence in the U.S. of A., the stores and the Malls will have to reflect the differing sects and their needs to celebrate their holi (HOLY) days.  Upon reflection I think I noticed a diminution of Kwanza symbols and goods offered to those who have taken up observing this foil to Christmas and Chanukah.  I may be wrong, but then, we have chosen to stay out of the traffic while the masses boil out of their homes and head for the malls.

I must say that I had seen an ad in the $288.88 style of lowering prices in BrandsMart’s colorful pages that a certain digital recorder (the kind you can slip into a shirt pocket) was on sale for quite a low price.  We made the mistake of thinking that the Best stores was BrandsMart’s and found they did not have the item I wanted.  Carol and I had sort of convinced ourselves that I needed to replace my “old” digital 1.3 Megapixel digital camera and we could look over the new models that proclaimed 6, 7 to 10 Megapixels.  We made a long ride to the nearest BrandsMart and found what we looked for and, against reason in the pre-holiday shopping frenzy, discovered that we had to go outside and stand in line waiting for the items to be dropped down a chute and then had to sign long strips of paper with tiny writing on them.

We got stuck in traffic backed up and rerouted because the motorcyclist’s parade on 95 was delivering toys for Christmas.  This is one reason to avoid malls.