Thursday, December 22, 2016

Another year, more stuff.

I remember as a little kid it was forever or at least it seemed like forever that Christmas rolled around.  Well, it is amazing how fast this last year has gone by, and it's Christmas time again. This last year has especially gone by fast since it was about this time last year that my femur snapped as I was getting into the Honda.
January whizzed by, surgery, rehab, on and on, then about April the titanium implant that got wedged into the bone snapped.
Back to remove the broken part, (This time the surgery to remove it took 12 hours) April and May pass, then complications from being hospitalized too long, on and on, so I have only really been back on my feet for the last 3 or 4 months more or less, so it's nice to put this year away.

Now, a new chapter in life, means that I can't climb up on roofs anymore, because I need to be careful because I do not want to wind up in the hospital every again if I can help it.
  It's interesting to see how some limitations now effect ones day to day activities.  No, I didn't fall down, which is the kiss of death for anyone in our golden years. It just seems that  the balance is not as good as it was during my tennis playing days.  But I guess nothing is.

On to Christmas which we are lucky because we celebrate it twice. Once on December 25 and one more time on January 6.

Mexico will basically be closed down from tomorrow to the weekend after January 6th, in the new year.  I have no problem with that because it should be a time where people spend time with families and enjoy traditions.
 Growing up back in the old days, there were many things that I appreciated. One of them was that stores and stuff were closed on holidays and Sundays. The streets and shopping districts were empty on Sundays. One exception was in December where some not all the stores were open late  until 9 pm and some were open on Sundays from 10 to 3 during the month.

Now, lots of stores are open 24 hours 7 days a week. I keep seeing TV commercials saying that Lowes, Macys and a few others will be open 24 hours and until 6 on Christmas eve.

At least they will close on Christmas. Wow, what a sacrifice.

Because the stores were closed on Sundays you got all your errands done before Sunday, all the shopping got done beforehand, no one starved because the supermarket was closed on Sunday.
Restaurants were open, so families who wanted a family meal could enjoy them on Sundays. Most of the time Sundays was the day that families could get together and enjoy dinner together either at home or out.
Society has sure changed, NOB, you can drive through fast food joints 24 hours a day, shop 24 hours a day, watch TV 24 hours a day.

It was nice to be able to see the TV and radio stations sign off at midnight, playing the national anthem and showing the flag waving. Radio stations would go off at midnight also. Are there that many people listening to the radio at 3:45 am that warrant the power bills of operating a radio station at that time of the night?
  How did we possibly survive without going nuts?  I think it was called planning and control.  We didn't have to have instant gratification by being able to buy a coffeemaker at midnight.  More people led a much more calm life, in my estimation.  Nothing was that important that it couldn't wait.

I have seen Mexico change from the closed on Sundays to more stores staying either open or keeping later hours.  Big Box stores have been somewhat responsible for that, if you go visit Morelia, on Sunday all the shopping centers parking lots are full. Even though Mexicans still have Sundays for family, a lot of them are out and about too.

It's time to slow down and enjoy a few weeks in the season.

 Merry Christmas! to you and your families and too bad if that offends you.

 You can have a Happy New Year then....

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