Today's View From the Unemployment Line

I braved Michigan Ave. on Saturday evening. The throngs of holiday shoppers are already out, and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. I guess that could be taken as a good sign for the economy and for Mayor Daley's new, higher sales tax. Maybe they won't ticket our cars so much anymore if they can pick the pockets of the Christmas gift buyers. Ah, but I dream. More revenue will just mean more stuff to spend it on! I can just see the mayor and his cronies lighting 100 bills with their cigars and saying, "Merry Christmas to ME!"

I'm obviously not quite in the holiday spirit yet. It's even tougher to be so after shoving my way through the shopping hordes on Saturday. But soon enough there will come a time where Christmas music is enjoyable, rather than excruciating. I'm no Scrooge, but I do like my holidays separate. Once I wake up from my turkey-induced nap on Thanksgiving Day, I will probably be a bit more comfortable with the idea of Christmas trees and Jingle Bells. Until then, I will just have to endure...