$hopping $eason

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the season of need and greed is upon us. In a few hours (at least as I write this) hordes of shoppers, tired from Thanksgiving festivities, will descend upon the malls to spend money that many don't have for things that many others likely do not need. But they'll get great buys! Thursday morning's paper was loaded with ads showing what great buys folks can get.

The paper was over an inch thick.

Here are the only sections I actually read. There really wasn't much to read in them since the Roanoke Times never prints much actual news. 

These are the sections that I won't bother to read. Aside from the sports section, which I never read, they're all ads.

I'm not using three gallons of gas to drive in heavy traffic to Roanoke, fight the crowds, breathe mall air (and likely catch whatever respiratory disorder is currently going around), and spend money for the latest gizmos that ads say are a great bargain. I don't need anything that I can't get in Rocky Mount or at Westlake. Actually, I don't need anything.

One of the things I'm thankful for—not just on Thanksgiving, but every day—is that I already have everything I need. I have enough—probably more than enough.

Dylan might be looking through the ads, but he won't be shopping either. 

At least I'm not driving him to the mall. 

~