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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Joy and capitalism, the meaning of Christmas


Brian was not yet a teen but back in the '70s kids could have a paper route, and he did. And it was a big one with about seventy customers.

One Christmas Brian bought a big bag of Popsicle sticks and made small sleigh Christmas tree ornaments to give to his customers. It took him hours to assemble and glue the little wooden sleighs and then decorate them with little drawings of Christmas trees and print "Merry Christmas" in red ink on each one.

When Brian made his pre-Christmas collection, he gave each customer a little sleigh and wished them a Merry Christmas. He returned home with his pockets bulging with Christmas bonus money. He made, shall we say, a killing.

It turns out our little Christmas weasel didn't just buy Popsicle sticks. He made an investment in both sticks and human nature. And his investment delivered very handsome returns.

Brian had some sticks left over and these he made into inexpensive but oh-so-sweet little little gifts for all his aunts and uncles. And they were cheap. Ours hangs on our tree every year, along with all the other Christmas memories.

Merry Christmas!

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