By Juan C. Ayllon
There's something transcendent about Christmas and the winter holiday season. I recall watching scenes from movies and reading about soldiers on opposing sides laying down arms for a few minutes on Christmas Eve and exchanging pleasantries. And although the mystical qualities they held for us as children have passed, it still carries special meaning for many of us. At the same time, financial pressures from an economy that is not nearly as good as advertised, rising costs of living and an increasing narcissistic, entitled mentality undercuts the holiday cheer. Yesterday, my wife, Belle, was about to pull into a parking space at a mall when a man in a car coming from the opposite direction rushed forward, forcing her to stop. He rolled down his window and yelled, "What the (expletive) are you doing?" True to form, she responded, "You can have the space. Merry Christmas!" Then, later after she picked me up and we were merging onto a highway, we were nearly cut off by someone else driving a white Mercedes. Nice. We had a couple steaks at a TGI Fridays, but were surprised at the relative emptiness in that store. Maybe there were 25 people at 9 PM. Normally, these places are packed, but as our waitress noted, lately people aren't going out as much. They're staying in more and using services such as Amazon to avoid the costly and packed malls. Sad. And if that wasn't enough, a few minutes later, a large African American male stood up and screamed at his waiter to take his food back. Apparently, it wasn't delivered in a timely fashion. "We didn't get served until after I complained," he thundered, as his wife cringed. He spurned the diminutive manager's offers to comp the meal, scaring her, and throwing down a fistful of money after his disturbing performance, he stormed out, his wife and kids in tow. So much for celebrating our Savior's birth. A few minutes later, the manager came to our table to apologize for the disturbance. Of course, we assured her that we were fine and did not take this disturbed man's theatrics as a reflection on their establishment. On the flipside, a few minutes ago, I received a Skype call from my friend, Sam Wisniewski, in Poland. We chatted a few minutes, exchanged Christmas greetings and had a good laugh when I put Belle on the phone -- and she shrieked, "I can't Skype without my makeup!" That's what Christmas and the winter holiday is all about. With the rush and demands of 21st Century life, please don't lose sight of that. As Kurt Elling put it in this YouTube video, have a cool Yule!
1 Comment
Terry Coffa
12/24/2017 11:25:35 am
Thanks for your thoughts Juan!....it sounds like you and Belle are trying to set a good example. God Bless you!
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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