Holiday shopping — bah humbug!
The mad rush to purchase Christmas gifts began the day after Thanksgiving, and that rush is continuing, as evident by the number of vehicles parked in front of shopping centers and other area stores.
For those of you who are shopaholics, this time of year is fun and exciting. You don't mind waiting in line forever to get one item or saying excuse me every other minute because you run into someone at every turn.
I suppose one reason I hate the crowds and the heavy traffic associated with holiday shopping is because I am, for the most part, an impatient person. I am not one of those people who can go shopping and stay from daylight until dark.
I always have a plan. I go in, get what I want and leave as quickly as possible. That's usually pretty simple, except for these dreaded holidays.
Take this past weekend for example. I was in Tuscaloosa doing a little last-minute Christmas shopping and waiting to see the new “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie with my sister and three nephews.
Oh, for those of you who are wondering, I bought everything I could here in Greenwood. There were only a few specialty items that I couldn't find here and had to get in Tuscaloosa. I always shop at home first. And that's a good rule for everyone.
Anyway, back to the Christmas shopping nightmare.
First, I had to go to a new shopping center to get my 10-year-old nephew a book he could understand about World War II. Believe it or not, that is all he asked me to buy him. He is fascinated with that particular war. He is much smarter than his Aunt Jenny was at 10 years old. Heck, he is smarter than his Aunt Jenny is at 39. But he did test as gifted. Wish he would share some of that gift with me. I have trouble remembering my name most days.
Having lived in Jackson for 15 months, I became accustomed to heavy traffic, but I don't seem to recall it ever being as bad as it was in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. To get from the bookstore across to the mall, I had a red light in which to cross four lanes of traffic. Sounds easy. Right?
Wrong! The light located about half a mile down the road was not synchronized with the new signal, and people were coming through and blocking the intersection. So when my light would turn green, I had to sit there and wait. I did that through three lights, watching them turn green, yellow and then red again.
I am sure the folks around me could see steam coming out of my car after the third light changed. One thing I hate worse than anything is inconsiderate drivers who pull into the middle of the intersection, knowing they are blocking the way for other drivers to cross the road.
Where was their holiday spirit?
By the fourth light, I said to myself, “I am going through and they will just have to hit me.” After all, I had the right of way and the green light. So here I go, barreling through the traffic with my horn blaring, so people would at least slow down some as I went across the street. I must admit, I did have a few choice words for those who gave me evil looks as I weaved between cars to make my way across.
In case you haven't guessed yet, I have horrible road rage from time to time, especially when people don't know how to drive. And Saturday, I came down with an exceptionally bad case.
But things only got better after I finally crossed the road to safety.
When I went into University Mall to pick up a couple of much-needed items at my favorite store, I found it wasn't there. I was told it had moved across the street in the new shopping center that I had just had a heck of a time getting out of. I was NOT happy! I really needed some things from this particular store.
So here I go again, trudging through the rain back to my car and back into the horrendous traffic.
Luckily, someone had called the police, and a patrol car was sitting there watching traffic as I approached the light again. It's amazing how, all of the sudden, everyone was being courteous and not blocking the intersection.
Soon the shopping nightmare was over, and I enjoyed a great movie and nice dinner with my nephews and sister.
Thank goodness they didn't see the shopping Scrooge come out in their Aunt Jenny. Hopefully, she is tucked away until next year when the holiday shopping comes around again and people forget the rules of the road.
I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
