Besides my full time job at Ma Bell, I work a part time job at a retailer, THE retailer, Wal-mart who I fondly call Big Box Mart . I don't do anything earth shaking. I check groceries but as most people that serve the public do, I have interesting stories about my dealings with our fellow man. We see it all in retail, the good, the bad, the ugly and the absolutely mind blowing. Those of us who are Christians, have just come off one of the most anticipated seasons of the year, Christmas. Our churches preach good will, fellowship, peace, harmony, love, family, and laughter. Some of our customers attended church and heard these lessons blasted from the pulpits. But I have found after this Christmas and last Christmas the lessons of the season are often forgotten in the presence of .....THE AFTER CHRISTMAS SALE!! Big Box store marked all Christmas items from air freshener to dog treats 50% off and hearded all these holidays items to the seasonal section of the store. People poured through the doors and either headed for the return line or to the seasonal section and peace on Earth, good will toward men fell by the wayside as they yelled at customer service agents for not taking back gifts that were not purchased at Wal-mart, gifts that were received LAST Christmas, placing returns on a card for in store credit as opposed to giving them cash and whatever the customers tried to pull as they pimped for every single darn penny. In my own line, I fought with customers who tried to convince me that every day items such as a surge protector and a DVD player with a Christmas promo on the box qualified for a 50% discount. All around me customers yelled and screamed at cashiers who would not fall for the age old tricks that our customers try to pull to get cheaper DVD's, food items and clothes by pulling off tags so we didn't know the price, stating that this or that item qualified for a mark down, pleaded ignorance that they did not know that coupon was for Target only. In the seasonal aisle, customers grabbed and pushed and hoarded and yelled at eachother. Mind you, not every customer was like this but how many of us forget our humanity in how we deal with matters dealing with money? Our store was filled with Scrooges who were so caught up in the consumerism that the idea behind gift giving was a lesson lost. The original gift of Christmas which was the Christ Child, was cheapened by people who decided that getting away with a few extra dollars was worth the feelings of their fellow man and over the Thanksgiving weekend, the life of an employee. Is it worth it? How shallow those lives must be. Provided we need a little money to get by and make sure our physical needs are met but at the end of our lives, how many cars we own, how big our house is, how many furs or knick nacks we have mean nothing. Don't get me wrong. There are good people that come to our store. I waited on many who spent 100's of dollars on clothing and gifts for the poor. I also waited on many who would sell their soul for a 5 dollar savings. I see lessons in the lives of people like Anna Nicole Smith. A court case that granted her 435 million dollars, was worthless. What she spent her life trying to achieve in the end yielded her what life eventually yields to us all. What good did allll that money do her? As groups strive to take the religious significance out of Christmas and turn it into a holiday about red nosed reindeer and snowmen and abject materialism, I wonder how we allowed political correctness to get us to this point.

Luke 2:7-20, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid and the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold I bring you Good tidings of great Joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a saviour which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, and goodwill towards men. "

And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about...