Well, today is Sunday, December 15 and there are only 10 days until Christmas!  If you are planning to have turkey for dinner, you should have started defrosting it by now.  Today marks the birthday of Lucas Osiander, Isidor Dannstrom and Dave Clark.  On this day in 1664 the English colonized Connecticut, in 1854 the first street-cleaning machine in the US was used in Philadelphia and in 1950 New York City’s Port Authority opened.  It is Zamenhof Day for the Esperanto League, Kingdom Day in the Netherlands Antilles and Bill of Rights Day in the US.

One of the things that I find bothersome at this time of the year is the way we associate some songs with Christmas even though they do not mention Christmas or have any real connection to the holiday.  Consider a song like “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”  This is a story about a guy who is trying to compromise the virtue of a young woman by convincing her to stay at his place because it is cold.  I am assuming that it is winter, so it is reasonable to assume that it will be cold.  Is it his plan to have her stay until April when it might be warmer?  She is resisting, but appears to be weakening.  C’mon Baby, button up your coat, wrap a scarf around your neck and go home.  Besides, if being cold is the best reason he can come up with to get you to stay, you need to find a better class of guy.

The problem with that song is that it does not address the holiday, just the weather.  Another weather-related song is “Let It Snow.”  Again, no mention of the holiday.  This one just wants you to sit around the delightful fire and do nothing.  A lovely thought, but some of us have baking to do, presents to wrap, more shopping to take care of and on and on.  We do not have time for sitting by the fire (nor, for that matter, do we, personally, have a fire to sit by). 

We sing songs like “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty The Snowman” but they are just winter songs.  Realistically, they would be as appropriate in February as they are now, but no one will be singing about a winter wonderland or snowmen or sleigh rides after the 25^th.  Another song that gets trotted out this time of year is “A Few of My Favorite Things.”  I do not like this song, any time.  I especially do not like it around the holiday.  It just sounds like a cheesy way to give your Christmas list – and most people would be very disappointed if schnitzel with noodles was all they got.

I think the time has come for us to stop allowing these musical interlopers to interfere with classic holiday songs like “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” or “It’s Christmas and I Don’t Know Where I Am.”  It is not that I don’t like the songs, it’s just that I think they should get more play by moving them to a seasonal play list rather than restrict them to the holiday.  Picture this – it is a cold, snowy Saturday morning in February, you are sitting in the kitchen, snug and warm in the special fuzzy robe and pajamas you got for Christmas, sipping coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) and reading the paper.  You have the radio on in the background and you hear the strains of “Let It Snow” sung by Leon Redbone.  What more could you ask for!  Why restrict that feeling to the holidays?  I think we need to make some effort to have these songs take their proper place in the seasonal playlists.  If anyone decides to start that protest, let me know.  I am with you.

Meanwhile, let me go back to one of my constant topics – commercials.  This time; however, it is not the commercials themselves.  The problem I see is the resulting issues developed by the products.  One of them is a product to help you stop smoking.  Apparently when you use it, every time you decide not to smoke you hallucinate.  When you say no to a cigarette, you suddenly see a small band playing “I Just Want To Celebrate.”  I figure it has to be the product.  I quit smoking using hypnosis and I did not see this band whenever I decided not to have a cigarette, so it follows that the product is causing the problem. 

 Another commercial shows people in a store and the items on the shelf are talking to them.  You see them look around to see if anyone else is hearing the voices.  I have been to that store myself and, on several occasions, have purchased items.  Now I don’t know if I really wanted the items or if there was some subliminal message that made me do it.  I think the next time I go there I will have someone with me.  That way they can tell me if they hear the voices, too.

Our fact this week tells us that 40% of McDonald’s profits come from Happy Meals.  So that means that the other 57 items they have on their menu only generate 60% of the profits (who said I can’t do math).  Maybe they should develop Happy Meals for adults.  They could give you a Big Mac, fries, a shake and a list of local cardiologists or a packet of Tums.  If the adult version turns out as well as the one for kids, they could trim their menu and concentrate on Happy Meals for other population segments – senior citizens, teens, 30 somethings, etc.  Then the biggest problems would be creating the various boxes and coming up with what to include as a prize.

Anyway, stop lollygagging and get going.  I am sure you have something you could be doing.  Afterall, there are only 10 days left!