It is Sunday, December 9, and there are only 16 days until Christmas.  Only 16 days!!!  Any day now, stores will realize they are going to be stuck with a lot of merchandise that they didn’t sell at the usual inflated holiday prices.  Then the sales will begin with fantastic markdowns and people will be sorry that they rushed out at 2 AM the morning after Thanksgiving to buy things at twice the price as they could get them now.  They will swear that next year they will wait, but they won’t and the cycle will repeat.

Anyway, it is the birthday of Fritz Haber, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Dick Butkus.  On this day in 1793 Noah Webster established New York’s first daily newspaper, American Minerva.  In 1903, the Norwegian parliament voted unanimously for female suffrage.  And, in 1985, Phoenix, Arizona got three inches of snow.  It is Independence Day/Republic Day in Tanzania.  Apparently everyone else was too busy to have any kind of holiday.

So, here we are with only a couple weeks until the big holiday.  Everywhere people are starting to exhibit that false happiness and joy that we are so good at each year around this time.  The utility companies are gleefully counting the money they are making as people try to light up their houses so that they can be seen from space.  Those who do not celebrate the holiday are looking forward to being able to go to restaurants and theaters without the crowds that are usually there. All in all, a festive time of year.

What bothers me is what comes right after Christmas Day.  That is when everyone starts to gear up for the end of the year.  The networks start to show their “Best of …” shows.  One of the ones I always find interesting is the “Best Commercials of (whatever year we are in).”   Generally, when commercials come on, everyone goes to get a snack, or goes to the bathroom, or just zones out until they are done.  What do we do when the entire show is commercials?  Do we spend the whole show in the kitchen or the bathroom?  For a break do they show four minutes of a real show?  How do we know when the show stops and the commercials begin?

This is also the time when advertisers want you to believe that your resolutions should include buying a new car, coat, jewelry, exercise equipment, or whatever else they are selling.  Somehow I just cannot resolve to buy a new car.  I can think of a number of reasons for buying a car, but just because it is a new year is not one of them.  Generally, I think that resolutions are silly.  People resolve to do something like start a diet, or quit smoking, or exercise more.  Let’s face it, if we really wanted to do these things, we would do them, now.  Why wait until the end of the year?  If you need to do it, do it!

I have always tried to make resolutions that I know I can keep.  That way I will not be disappointed in myself if I can’t keep them.  In past years, I have resolved to not sing out loud on public transportation, not to wear hats that make me look like a garden gnome and to stop saying, “You go girl!” to myself.  This year I resolve to not do imitations of Ethel Merman.  I feel confident that I will keep this resolution.   

But I digress …

As I said, the networks all start showing their Best of shows.  Any other time we would call these shows repeats or reruns or the more formal term – encore performances.  But in this last week of the year they suddenly become the “Best of …”

 All of this leads up to New Year’s Eve.  This year there is going to be a problem.  I just cannot see Ryan Seacrest’s Rockin’ New Years Eve.  Even with Fergie there, Ryan Seacrest does not evoke thoughts of rockin’ anything.  Maybe Ryan Seacrest’s New Year’s Eve featuring Fergie.  Or maybe just  New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest and Fergie.  One thing for sure, it will be different. 

Dick Clark was the quintessential New Year’s Eve celebrity.  It just wasn’t  New Year’s Eve without him.  I felt that they could have skipped having him appear the past few years, but, for some reason, no one thinks to ask me about these things.  Without Dick Clark, I will have to come up with another reason to stay awake until midnight.  In the past I have had several ideas, but they usually just get “the look” from the lovely Elaine.

In the meantime, start baking and wrapping and hiding gifts.  There are only two weeks left.  Stop reading and get busy!  

Besides, we are done for this week.