Christmas Shopping Experience

"The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has" ---Alan Ashley-Pitt

I think it has been ten years since I went Christmas shopping. Sure, I ran shopping errands here and there to a store to get something, but have not gone to multiple stores in one single outing for a long time. I had an unusual experience out there, nothing really happened to me, however; I observed a great deal going on. My first stop was the post office. Important safety tip here; avoid the US Post Office the second to last Saturday before Christmas. It was nasty in there and the line stretched way out the door. All I wanted to do was purchase postage for a Priority Mail envelope and even the postage ATM had a long line. I patiently waited and got my business done and then walked out to my car. Once outside I witnessed two vehicles racing for one open spot and they collided. The occupants jumped out and started yelling at each other and others called the police before it escalated.

The next mission took me to a Walmart Supercenter in my town. I pulled into the parking lot and wondered aloud if the entire city was here. This place was packed and once inside it was obviously filled with impatient and frantic shoppers. Vintage Walmart, they had thousands of customers and six registers open and long lines. Yuck, and I bailed out on that scene rather quickly.

Off to a local bookstore to get a young man and myself a book. I could not find this book so I asked a young woman if they had this book. She looked at me and said, how would I know. She was standing at the computer where they look such things up. Perhaps the computer was non-operational I thought to myself. I finally found a young man that was stocking shelves, he guided me to the book, and it was available on cd, read by the author. I grabbed two of the books on compact disc to load onto my I-pod Touch. I highly recommend this book to any man or young man. Although it is based on my religious beliefs, it has excellent information on becoming a man that makes a positive, inspirational impact on the world. The title is Men of Valor by Robert J. Millet, I have listened to the majority of this book on my I-pod Touch already, and I found many great things of value there. One chapter speaks of how a man overcame his trials and how he dealt with them. While the individual portrayed in the book is of far greater character, I found that he and I have traveled parallel roads. We have dealt with our difficulties and trials in a very similar method. I wish I would have known of this book long ago and not traveled the road of trial and error so frequently.

However, my Christmas shopping adventure continues. My next stop was a convenience store to get a forbidden treat. Okay, it is not really forbidden, however; I am sure it is not good for me. I have broken this habit many times in my life, only to return and as I indulged, found a smile on my face. This habit is my beloved Coke Zero. As I walked into the convenience store, I noticed a woman approaching the door from inside with her hands full. I opened the door and waited for her to pass through to the outside. As she passed, she smiled and said thank you. I started to go inside when this woman turns around and slightly shouts out to me. She says do you know you are the first person to hold a door open for me in at least five years. I gave that some thought, we are in such a hurry-up world. I see people go in and out of convenience stores all the time and they never look behind them or pause for a second to hold the door for others. Such a simple thing to do and I have found an excellent way to see someone smile.

My shopping experience would end parked outside a Bed Bath and Beyond. I sat outside in my car looking at the store. It is, as I feared a place where no single men were shopping. A wife, girlfriend or family accompanied the men that were going in and coming out. I thought this does not look comfortable as a single man to go shopping in this store. I needed a gift from this store and I had a coupon. Now, as single income home, one does not so easily discard coupons. Prepare for battle I thought as I climbed out of my car. I stood took a deep breath of that famous winter inversion, smog filled air. I looked ahead at the entrance, pulled my shoulders back, chest out, and chin up. I vaulted for the door and as I entered, I was shocked to be very pleasantly surprised the entire store had a very nice citrus smell to it. As I browsed the store with an intimidated feeling, I suddenly realized this store was filled with gorgeous women Christmas shopping. Many of these lovely women were not wearing wedding bands. Instantly the intimidated feeling of being in a woman’s world was replaced with the feeling of shopping for a date. Then my thoughts turned to other stores. My goodness I have stumbled onto a secret hidden from men for years. These female oriented stores are filled with, well, females. I thought of other stores I could visit to browse the women of the world. Briefly, I entertained the thought of Victoria’s Secret. Hey, I am man and I follow my shallow thoughts on their field trips frequently. Then common sense kicked in and I realized hanging out and browsing a woman’s under garment and lingerie store could be a little over the top. Thank goodness, I came out of shallow and back to the confused state of mind, I reside.

I ended my shopping experience there and decided to stop for the day. I learned a great deal during my shopping experience. The post office is a demolition derby and they need additional help and perhaps some Kiosks to handle the crowd. Walmart should be quarantined and the doors locked for good. Bookstore clerks have issues. Convenience stores are a good place to get dental work realigned when the door smacks you in the face. There are many great places in my city to go flirt, smile and browse the beautiful women of this world all while doing a little shopping. However, my most valuable experience on this day was the realization of one single thought. Online shopping is awesome!

"Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously." ---Og Mandino

"The aim of life is some way of living, as flexible and gentle as human nature; so that ambition may stoop to kindness, and philosophy to condor and humor. Neither prosperity nor empire nor heaven can be worth winning at the price of a virulent temper, bloody hands, an anguished spirit, and a vain hatred of the rest of the world." ---George Santayana