Ah. November. The season of holidays. (Religious, secular, family-er, decorative, foodie and commercial/consumer.) Holy, holy, holy. A collection, from the month, not of money. But first …
End of first week: Still up were the mass remnants of Halloween, namely the still-on in yards decked out creatures, in unlikely places based on prosperity, such as villages and towns, but more in the Bright Lights Big City. “Hulloween,” as per a sign, lives on in Hudson, Wuscunsun. Meanwhile, “Chrustmus” trees had already been on sale, even up in front of stores. Boughs in, and in cases there well before, early October? German beer and sauerbraten and brats, weiners or otherwise, fine wine on the Rhine, were weaning down, in the land that created the Christmas tree. More on that below.
End of the second week: First viewing of most Christmas decor done by actual people/customers not Walmart employees in back then put out on the rack, such as the small sports car with a wreath on the top of — of all places — the back window even though it had a roof, not a full-on 4X4 truck, tied me down where it kissed that roof, (been listening to too much Hendrix, as in the above headline, to tie it all down), already all lit up with tiny electric sparkles. Meanwhile, without sales you don’t have such, so a bounty of boutiques and bizarres were hath set and announced, some ongoing. One, to take wreaths and porch pots and run with the idea, is at 2321 Jack Breault Drive, but it doesn’t give a name of the place or venue or even the establishment, saying simply that there is also commercial space for lease, so blatant plug? Over at the seasonally-based sale of the St. Croix County Development government group, prairie plants and compost bins, community oriented, on opposite ends of flora, to be delivered later, are teamed in a sentence in a promotional flyer. Out the window, there are off-white flurries, or are they another Canadian import, that being a few wildfire embers, at a rate of about one speck every ten seconds against a backdrop of two out-by-front-window green pine trees.
End of the third week: Air travel is back to usual routes, such as they are post (back-to-pre?) shutdown, but are all traffic controllers back at their computers/windows? So they can’t use the lavatory, unless it gives them a room with a view? Of these holiday trees?
Relatedly, is politics a holiday? Congressmen do take a vacation. As it is near end-of-year, ‘Tis the season for … economy stats. Labor costs are likely at their highest and increasing. All the more reason to keep cheap immigrant hires. They raise your turkeys, which actually are not as hugely costly as you might think. Depending on which big shot politician — or me — and not the one who actually bagged it with a en-sure shot, sure to make a body drop, you’re talking to. Is this an Ozzy farewell concert promoter plug? Because …
Bird flu outbreaks lingering doesn’t help the grocery prices, which are at their highest, depending again, on the product, (see below for post Black Friday.) So don’t ruffle your feathers, as also pointed out, as our single-year grocery price increases were highest in 2022. (That may still change this year.) Riding the wave of the pandemic, which soon later was largely curbed, and also swelling due to other world war pig factors, such as the “conflict” in Ukraine. (We are now, like it or not, isolationist or not, a global economy.)
The food prices in one 12-month period rose 11.4 percent in 2022, but saw some relief late in Biden’s term. There was steady, continued rise under Trump. so a takeaway, they’re likely at an all-time high for our country right now, even when adjusted for inflation.
That statement requires some context. First, in earlier times, many or most people lived on farms, so even if they were in poverty, there usually was a ready food supply as close as the barn or the fields.
Also, the annual goal for where to set inflation (by The Fed) was, or currently is set, at 2.0 percent. (It can chnage overnight.) The latest figure under Trump is 2.7 percent. Bah humbug!
End of the fourth week: Inflatables inflate to a new level, all over, with the biggest Santa to be seen (full human size), showing a far-bigger-than-snowman-as-in-a-carrot nose. Grinch-like? No, Scrooge. But only a few reindeer seen. It’s early in the season.
In the game between The Eagles and The Bears — I think a tie so it became The Beareagles — there was a player by the name of either gobble or gander, I forget which one. Either way, take a gander.
Meanwhile, Lights are up in this Bright Lights Big City, to again milk a joke, both next to the freeway for passersby, and all though Lakefront Park, again for passersby. My neighbor lady was set to go out for a walk with her dog, to tinkle while they twinkle.
Is that guy who said famously, via bumper stickers on His truck that is always parked Out In Front Of The Building: Trump, Make America Great Again, (T-MAGA) or maybe redacted to Bring It Back Again (BIBA), not (Nib) just settled in his bed inside, embarrassed, like before the Ghost of Christmases Past and Present?
Coulda been like the guy, not Santa, on Drunksgiving who was plopped outside the Smilin’ Moose in a stupor, back slid against the wall and legs across much of the sidewalk, and after (shots) and a couple of minutes of coaxing, rose again. The weather was ice cold, but don’t worry it was to no avail for Mother Nature, as people out in not too much more than thongs were out in throngs — unlike the balmy weather of the Earlier In November Light Up Night and semi-accompanying bar crawl — which also drew throngs, including a couple of guys who looked just like the sirs the cover of the Mr. Monopoly gameboard.
Bonus coverage, new feature, first two days of December:
Went on a bar crawl, real one, and tried to cross the four-lane street where you’re not supposed to — no lights but there were street stripes — and got a branch stuck in my eye (no not needle) just before my head veered an inch or two, and don’t worry city officials and council and attorney, (the only one that matters), I’m not going to sue you.
I saw, on ice, not On ICE, a whole gaggle of robins (a partridge in a pear tree?) all strutting about, just alongside — a sheet or two or three of ice. Last worm-gobbling stop before more migration.
If you are trying to beat holiday prices, the latest grocery store flyer received, touted things like potatoes and cranberries — which in bags as opposed to cans are both $2.49 and good luck if you just want to buy a few single berries or buy by the ounce, or by the pound — not the beef that is at its highest in the history of our grand land, and that goes back to pilgrim times.
So that is my collected loosely — like my post-holiday and questionable-turkey and gravy-induced stool, nevermind — grab bag, like stuffing mix.
Don’t be like the last four stories. Happy holidays!