I think that the longer I’m away from working retail, the more I enjoy shopping at Christmastime.

I worked at a store called “Work World” for quite a while. It was a franchise, and the chain has since been acquired by competitor “Mark’s Workwearhouse.” Anyway, as anyone who has worked the holiday rush can attest, it’s a crappy time of year to work retail. It’s good to be busy, and you get lots of hours, but you get more crazies out than at any other time of the year. Most people are understanding, and good customers, but you’d still get one or two per shift that you wish would just go away. At the end of the holiday season, you’re sick of Christmas carols, and you’re sick of people. Especially in Canada, where Boxing Day sales finish off the season with a flock of birds descending on the malls with the attitude that they’re entitled to buy anything they want for deep discounts. (”cheep cheep cheep”)

Anyway, now that I’ve been away from it for 6 or 7 years, I find that I can just enjoy peoplewatching. I went to Walmart on Sunday, looking for one last gift for Julia (which they were out of stock of) and while I was looking for it, I saw people berating staff for following store policy, I saw staff, who were obviously new, trying to find things that they had no idea where to find. I saw children in shopping carts screaming the Veruca Salt standard “I want it now!” I saw parents finding the perfect gift for their kids, and I saw kids with a look of wonder in their eye as they drooled at a display case.

I found myself flowing with the human current, whistling a tune - at first just the song that was on the radio when I got out of the van, then various Christmas carols that I must have picked up from the store’s PA system. Despite the zoological bent of the crowd, I found myself smiling. I left the store without buying anything, and I didn’t feel frazzled. In fact, I really enjoyed the experience, because underlying all the hubbub, every single person there was shopping for a gift for someone they cared about. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of that in the holiday pandemonium.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “I told you officer, I’m not ‘hepped up’ on ‘goofballs’!” - Ned Flanders