Being thankful

It’s a cliché, but many blogs this time of year sport “what I’m thankful for” themes. Today, in the spirit of the holiday, I am doing the opposite.

What I am NOT thankful for, both in this silly season, and throughout the year, in no particular order:

• Cold weather.  Either I’m getting older with thinner skin, or it seems to be getting colder each year.  Whatever happened to global warming?
• “Huge” and “mega” yard sales that are no more than one or two tables full of junk.  Why do they even bother?
• Non-paying buyers. 
• Constant rule changes on Amazon and Ebay.
• Holiday traffic.  
• Crowds at Wal-mart that make buying a simple tube of toothpaste an hour-long event.
• Endless Christmas music on every radio station.
• Salvation Army bell ringers who ring their bells incessantly. 
• Too many dealers, not enough good books at sales.
• Sellers who think their Holiday Barbies are actually worth big money.
• Yard sales that advertise “no early birds,” then open early.
• Yard sales that close early, or just before you get there.
• Tiny yard sale signs on street corners that are impossible to read.
• Yard sale advertisements without actual addresses.
• Telemarketers who won’t take no for an answer, and keep calling and calling and calling.
• Salespersons who think they are smarter than you.
• Endless road construction.
• Endless snipping between political parties and members thereof.
• Every church in town seemingly deciding to hold a sale on same Saturday.
• Gas station sushi.
• Not having a good box to mail an item.

In all seriousness, though, since it is Thanksgiving, I do feel the need to say that I am thankful for Ella, Duc, and the rest of my family and friends, and for all my wonderful readers who for some inexplicable reason continue to peruse my drivel that I have painstakingly disguised as a blog.

I am also thankful for Amazon and Ebay, without which I probably would be asking, “do you want fries with that?” on a nightly basis.