Everything’s going to the dogs.

And I don't mean my favorite shoes or all my free time.  I was with a fun new group last night (part study/part social) and we were talking about our summer travel.  One of the women commented how the stores used to be closed on Sundays in Amsterdam and how peaceful the streets were because of it.  This year, when she went back, everything was open and it felt like a mob scene.

That reminded me of when we spent a month in London as a family six years ago.  We were there for an extended business trip, so weekdays were busy.  Sundays were our favorite, my family didn’t even have the option of shopping or running errands.  We did what everyone else was doing— went to Hyde Park and had long, relaxing picnics together.

I got home late last night and Googled “Harrod’s London Store Hours.”  There it was:  Open Sunday 11:30a.m.– 6:00p.m. No!  NO!  No!  I then Googled “John Lewis.”  Maybe Harrod’s is for tourists, I’ll see what’s up where the locals shop.  Open Sunday 12:00p.m. – 6:00 p.m., 11:30a.m. to noon for browsing.  I fell asleep with my laptop next to me, the offensive news glowing at me like a goblin.

It bothered me so much that I was still mulling over it this morning as Huck dragged me around the neighborhood.   Marketers pushing consumerism as a pastime is so bad here in the states that stores are open on Thanksgiving Day.  I realized it last year when we were in NYC watching the Macy’s Day parade and I was shocked to see all the stores weren’t closed. 

I don’t know why it surprised me.  We jumped from opening up at 5:00am on the day after turkey day to shopping at midnight on holidays. 

The road to hell is paved with flashing neon signs.