Seasons Greetings

[RED-DOG]

Mrs Red and I went to Asda today to do some Christmas shopping. The store was crammed. Determined shoppers pushing overloaded trolleys along congested isles as if they were lagging behind on the highway to happiness.

I have very little interest in shopping, so while Mrs Red did the important stuff, I trailed along behind and amused myself by watching the people.

I saw a young man who was looking at the goods on the marked-down, out of date shelf. He was clean and presentable, but I noticed that his shoes were scuffed and the collar of his shirt was frayed. Clinging to his leg was a little girl, she was only about 3 years old, but she seemed content to wait patiently, no whining for sweets or toys.

A little further on I saw a very old lady in a wine coloured coat with matching hat. As she slowly shuffled past me I could see that she had taken time over her appearance, her face was powdered and rouged, her lipstick carefully applied. You could tell at a glance that she had once been very beautiful, and no doubt the centre of attention everywhere she went. Now the contents of her shopping basket told a different story. It contained one tin of peas, one tin of carrots, a packet of sliced turkey, and an individual Christmas pudding.

There was a queue for the toilets. The young man in front of me had great difficulty standing still, his limbs jerked and twitched continually. I struck up a conversation with him. His speech was slurred and difficult to understand, but he seemed happy to talk. It turned out that he was suffering from motor neurone disease; apparently, it’s progressive and incurable.


Sometimes we take things for granted. we get caught up in petty arguments and attach too much importance to minor annoyance and inconvenience. We forget how fortunate we really are.

Have a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

[bobby1]

Mrs Red and I went to Asda today to do some Christmas shopping. The store was crammed. Determined shoppers pushing overloaded trolleys along congested isles as if they were lagging behind on the highway to happiness.

I have very little interest in shopping, so while Mrs Red did the important stuff, I trailed along behind and amused myself by watching the people.

I saw a young man who was looking at the goods on the marked-down, out of date shelf. He was clean and presentable, but I noticed that his shoes were scuffed and the collar of his shirt was frayed. Clinging to his leg was a little girl, she was only about 3 years old, but she seemed content to wait patiently, no whining for sweets or toys.

A little further on I saw a very old lady in a wine coloured coat with matching hat. As she slowly shuffled past me I could see that she had taken time over her appearance, her face was powdered and rouged, her lipstick carefully applied. You could tell at a glance that she had once been very beautiful, and no doubt the centre of attention everywhere she went. Now the contents of her shopping basket told a different story. It contained one tin of peas, one tin of carrots, a packet of sliced turkey, and an individual Christmas pudding.

There was a queue for the toilets. The young man in front of me had great difficulty standing still, his limbs jerked and twitched continually. I struck up a conversation with him. His speech was slurred and difficult to understand, but he seemed happy to talk. It turned out that he was suffering from motor neurone disease; apparently, it’s progressive and incurable.


Sometimes we take things for grated. we get caught up in petty arguments and attach too much importance to minor annoyance and inconvenience. We forget how fortunate we really are.

Have a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

Very True Tom.

And a merry Christmas to you all too.

[patman]

good post.

if we could raise our head from the grindstone sometime we can smell the flowers!

all the best for the season...

[booder]

great post Red.
the line that really stands out for me is



We forget how fortunate we really are.


and seasons greetings to all those who do not post at the moment (for whatever reason) , hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a happier New Year.

[Tonji]

  to you Red, you take notice of the world & all in it

reminding me of the poem

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows......

[charmaine]

Puts it all in perspective , thank you for posting Tom 

Merry Christmas to you , Mrs Red and brood 

[Indestructable]

And from me as well.

[Dingdell]

Yes merry christmas to all - I will be raising a glass as I do every year to absent friends - too many of them unfortunately.

On a lighter note - I didn't know there were toilets in Asda - poigniant and informative - thanks Red xx

[sofa----king]

you know what Tom,you sould be a writer lol great post ,i had similar happenings when Mrs Sofa dragged me along lol. i packed all the stuff in the wrong bags and then i squashed the grapes at the bottom of the carrier bag,cold things with not so cold things lol,,,,all so that i havent got to go till next christmas.......
merry christmas and a very good new year to you and your familly mate,
have a nice time and plenty of fun ....ho,ho,ho

[Karabiner]

I suffer from chronic Chrimbophobia 

[bobby1]

you know what Tom,you sould be a writer lol great post ,i had similar happenings when Mrs Sofa dragged me along lol. i packed all the stuff in the wrong bags and then i squashed the grapes at the bottom of the carrier bag,cold things with not so cold things lol,,,,all so that i havent got to go till next christmas.......
merry christmas and a very good new year to you and your familly mate,
have a nice time and plenty of fun ....ho,ho,ho

I have commited every sin you mention here and I still get asked to go shopping, what can I do that is really serious to get me banned from shopping?

[Royal Flush]

you know what Tom,you sould be a writer lol great post ,i had similar happenings when Mrs Sofa dragged me along lol. i packed all the stuff in the wrong bags and then i squashed the grapes at the bottom of the carrier bag,cold things with not so cold things lol,,,,all so that i havent got to go till next christmas.......
merry christmas and a very good new year to you and your familly mate,
have a nice time and plenty of fun ....ho,ho,ho

I have commited every sin you mention here and I still get asked to go shopping, what can I do that is really serious to get me banned from shopping?

Streak.