The Darkness of Black Friday, 2016

          For weeks I have been getting alerts to the big Black Friday stuff soon to be upon us. On-line, off-line, all types of businesses. Come, buy, big sales, BIG SALES. Fun. Fun? It holds no appeal to me whatsoever. Never has! Is there something wrong with my inner self?

          I have a grandson who was employed by the Target stores. One year he was assigned to open the doors and he described a horrible experience. How rude, how uncaring for others, the throng of people outside waiting, charging forward like a growling monster, fed by avarice.

           Friends who do the Black Friday thing tell me of sane humans snatching a desired purchase out of the hands of someone who was able to claim it before they did. Gone was any feeling of politeness or kindness. It all seems to be, “ I will get what I want, in spite of all resistance----whether that resistance comes from a store employee trying to have some semblance of order or another customer who is seeking the same purchase.

          Black is the correct color to describe this day I think. Solid Black! Evidently the original marketers of this craze felt it was appropriate as well. Darkness has always been associated with the lower regions for centuries. It is associated with the worst characteristics of the human race. Anger, greed, name calling, meanness, cheating, etc.  With all the clamor comes shouting, pushing, shoving, in-your-face attitude. Nope, just not my style.

          After the Day there are reports across the nation of injuries, violence in the store aisles, at the cash registers. People have even been trampled to the point of hospitalization. What happens to the civilized mind that has been taught rules of decent behavior?

          I love people. Friends have described me as a 'people person.' But I don't want them in crowds of grasping, greedy, me-first, me-only quantities. To some this day is considered fun, but not in my imagination. They make plans to be there in the wee hours as the doors swing open and the trampling parade rushes through the entry. Any person standing in their way may be knocked down and stepped on. This sounds like a nightmare, particularly in the opening hours. Later in the day, hours later, when the prices are not so good, but still perhaps somewhat discounted, that might have some attraction. The crowds hopefully would have dissipated and a degree of sanity resumed.

           I don't even look at the advertising, because I know I am not going.  These is not even a temptation. Enough said. I know I am not alone in my feelings, the grocery cashier today expressed her distaste for this same event.  An instant bonding. Lol

Aging Pumpkins and Me

         I thought about calling this little tidbit Halloween Leftovers, but I think the Aging Pumpkin is a better fit.

         This year my jack-o-lantern had a pretty simple face. Just not in the mood for some exotic carving, although I thoroughly enjoyed the creativity exhibited by some of my fell carvers.

Mine had verticle oval eyes, with some eyelash affect in the corner, a curved up and down mouth, rather like the curves on the normal human face. I declined from giving it an open nose, somehow the vertical lines on the pumpkin's skin gave the feeling of the strip of nose at just the right place. This was unintentional but came to mind as I was wondering about the nose. Then I added a widow's peak at the proper place on the rim before placing the lid on top.  All done, I liked it, it shed the right amount of light when I lit the candle placed inside.

        The pumpkin decorated my kitchen cabinet for several days before it started to age. The eyes still looked out, but the lashes became crow's feet. The lovely curl of the lips, pulled inward and took on a rather shrunken appearance. That widow's peak was still in place, still serving as an accent, but it too was turning inward. There were wrinkles up and down the nose as it caved inward. But when I lit the candle it still shown, just a slightly puckered expression.

         Crazy mind that I have, as you may have noticed if you read things I write, I started seeing the aging of all of us in this carved jack-o-lantern. When I look in the mirror these days I see my own crow's feet, my mouth taking on a shape that I had not intended. The lines are turning into deeper and deeper wrinkles, as expected. The widow's peak is a swirl of shining white hair.

         However, the light in my pumpkin still shines, the face still smiles. I hope that my light still shines too, that my smile stays in place, even though not as full and plump as it was in years past. I hope the twinkle in my eyes tells people that this is still me, here, within the changing face.