This Keeps Christ In Christmas?

Tis the season to shop has begun.  You know, the one that everyone claims is horrible, but yet thousands flood the local stores.  You know the one that everyone screams, keep Christ in Christmas, but then they see how many presents they can buy baby Jesus.

I am never disappointed in being shocked by people and this Black Friday sales event was no exception.  Our refrigerator went out on Thanksgiving, so we're trying to find another one.  We figured that Best Buy in Sanford, Florida was on our way home from Thanksgiving meal and since they were open, we would stop in.

Oh my land!  It was complete pandemonium there. Yes, I was crazy for even thinking about going in a store to look for another one on this day.  Go ahead, call me crazy!

Dozens of cars were circling the parking lot looking for a place to park.  People parking anywhere they could and walking a distance to the store.  I guess, I should have known by that moment, but no - I had to go find a distant parking place and walk to the store. I ignored all the things that were telling me, this was not a good idea!

You couldn't see it until you were in it...

Once I got in the store, it looked like just a lot of people shopping.  However, as I made my way through the crowd that didn't seem as bad until I got in the middle of it, I realized that the store had the isles blocked with merchandise routing people around the store to their specials and the checkout lanes.  Of course, until you were in the middle of this, you didn't fully realize what you were in the middle of at that moment.  You couldn't see it until you were in it.

Realizing that about 30 people were standing in front of the appliance isle I needed to go to, I quickly determined there was no reason to stay and I started to leave.  Now, I'm claustrophobic and this type of scene dramatically increases my anxiety.  The walls were closing in quickly and all I wanted to do was get out of this store.  It was the moment of my anxiety where it was either me or others that were not in a good place and I knew I had to get out quickly.

I started to panic...

As I looked up and saw just what a mess it was in the store, I started to panic.  It was then that I almost put the football pads on and went plowing through people.  I knew I had only minutes before the anxiety would completely take over me and take me down.  Fortunately, I made my way out of the place before that happened.  I'm still shocked and stunned by what I saw.

If there would have been a fire in the store or some crazy person loosing it with a gun, there is no way anyone could have gotten out of their.  I can't believe the Sanford Fire Department would allow this type of behavior, but either they didn't know, they didn't care, or they just didn't want to be bothered.  Best Buy should have done something (anything) to deal with crowd control, but I'm guessing the all-mighty dollar of Black Friday sales is more important than worrying about the safety of their customers.  After all, if something bad doesn't happen - then what's the worry?!

This morning though, I saw the Orlando Sentinel with the headline, "Thanksgiving Day Shopping Falters On Shrinking Crowds".  Really?  Exactly where did they go to determine the facts for such a statement?  I mean, if you looked at the closed stores, sure I would agree with you.  There were no cars there.

According to the Orlando Sentinel...

Quoting their newspaper article, "But judging by crowds at Central Florida stores Thursday, Thanksgiving shopping just doesn't draw the same interest it once did."  Really?  Obviously they picked stores and places we were not at.  I mean, every open store we saw was jam-packed.  The roads were packed.  The interstate was bumper to bumper.  Exactly what part of "Central Florida" did the Orlando Sentinel travel to for this article?

It irks me when the media just flat out doesn't do their homework.  Some might call it dishonest and lying.  To make a statement as they did in this headline is beyond belief.  It isn't backed up by any facts other than trying to make a sensationalized headline to grab someone's attention.  Facts aren't necessary.  All you need for the media is hype and people will buy it.

So last night, not only did Best Buy fail their customers, but so did the Fire Department and law enforcement of this area.  And - so did the Orlando Sentinel for reporting bogus facts to make a bogus story.  That's what keeping Christ in Christmas is all about?  That's celebrating the season of peace and joy and love?  This is how we are human?

And no - its not all the other people out there.  Don't let yourself off the hook that easy.  It is everyone that gets caught up in the greed and "I have to have this" type of behavior.  It is everyone that gets caught up in being hoodwinked into reading news that isn't true.

Maybe we all want to ask ourselves a very hard question - is this what it means to be human?  Is this what Christmas is about?  What is our role in all of this - and don't let yourself off the hook!  I saw far too many that would be standing on the street corner claiming we need to keep Christ in Christmas!

#ChristmasShopping

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

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Fentanyl Deaths Soar

I was shocked to read about this new drug Beth Kassab wrote about in her column in the Orlando Sentinel.  I don't think I had heard of this new drug Fentanyl.  Of course, I'm not always up on the latest new drugs and medications.

From the article, there is a very serious problem with Fentanyl in the Orlando area.  In 2013, there were 18 deaths.  In 2014 there were 34 deaths and in 2015, there were 70 deaths.  Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin.  It most likely affects other communities, but this post is specific to the Orlando area.

While this medication is prescribed for patients after surgery or for patients with terminal illness, it does not take too much of this drug to be deadly.  Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine.

Of course the drug dealers sell it to the addicts as heroin.  Unbeknown to the addicts, they may think they are getting heroin when in fact they may be getting Fentanyl and it could likely kill them as they think they can take the same dosage as they do with heroin.

One would think that the drug dealers would not want to kill off their buyers, but in the drug world, it is different from what I am reading.  It is like a badge of honor if the stuff they sell is so potent it kills off the buyers.  This means other buyers want their stuff more than anyone else.

We're living in a society where we turn to drugs far too much.  I will be upfront and honest in that I'm not a big believer in drugs or most surgeries.  You can call that naive if you want, but there are other ways to heal the body.  I've seen people on pain pills get so addicted that they can no longer feel and stay connected to their body.

There is an escalation of pain killers in our country and I don't think it is a good thing.  What is next?  Surgery to remove the nerves?  I believe in 500 or a 1000 years, we're going to look back and what we do now and wonder why we were so stupid in how we treated the human body.

Yes, I understand that when you're in pain, you want it to stop.  However, taking one escalating drug to kill the pain after another, isn't really solving the issue.  There are many other things you can do which truly heal the body, not just place a band-aid over a gushing wound.

Its sad to see the problems that this permeates out into our entire society.  We cause real issues for our communities and it plays havoc with the dollars we end up spending with very little to show for it.  It really is up to each one of us to wake up and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Money Behind Anonymous Comments

More and more, all news media is a major turn off these days.  If it was something that added to the discussion, it would be one thing, but more often than not, it is something that degrades humanity.  If you look at the real reason behind anonymous comments on news sites, you will often find it is all about the money.

Recently in the Orlando Sentinel, one of their columnists wrote an article about anonymous comments.  He was very correct in what he wrote, but unfortunately his employer will not do anything about stopping this practice.  It is not in their best interest to stop them, because it ultimately brings in money.  Of course, it is interesting that his column is drawing a great deal of criticism by the very people that are part of the problem.

News is not news these days.  News it not about informing you.  News is nothing more than a tabloid press designed to draw you in, engaging your ego and adding some fear, to the point where you need more of it.  News is about exciting you and upsetting you so you will come back and pay attention to more of what the crafty creators know will continue this relationship.  Yet many people continue to consume what they think "news" is just because they are mesmerized by the illusion of news.