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Rain can’t dampen spirit at Wilkes-Barre’s Christmas Parade

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Our View: We’ll be here to serve you for years to come

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; OK boys and girls, that big holiday is almost here, so get yourself all spiffed up and dressed to the nines, because it&#8217;s time.</p><p>Yes children, young and old alike, Black Friday is, well, this Friday.</p><p>And you thought I was talking about Thanksgiving, or Christmas maybe? Au contraire mon ami, this is 2017, where cell phones rule and actual conversations are as rare as families gathering around the dinner table to enjoy the food and each other to give thanks.</p><p>So what do want/expect to see under your sparkling Christmas tree or in your stocking hung by the chimney with care?</p><p>WalletHub, a personal finance website, has offered some ideas on what the best deals will be on this Black Friday.</p><p>And please, no pushing or shoving, no yelling or screaming and absolutely no trickery whatsoever.</p><p>WalletHub also cautions consumers to be alert &#8212; you may not have to wait until Black Friday to get the best deals. There may be gigantic pre-Black Friday sales that could eventually remove everybody but Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty from the dining room table.</p><p>Check your cell phones for the latest retail news, as if I had to tell you.</p><p>All of this modern-day marketing and gigantic sale-jockeying took me back to, yes, those good old days &#8212; of large, black dial phones, TVs with three stations and stores with nice salespeople who gave you the best price and then sent you to &#8220;the boss&#8221; for the absolute bottom-line, wholesale, barely-making-a-profit price.</p><p>Of course, these deals were all struck after mom and dad had taken their little darlings to see Santa Claus. We would write it all down in a Dear Santa letter and hand-deliver it to Santa, or one of his helpers, sitting in a red velvet chair in the middle of the toy department. This is where mom and dad would learn exactly what their kids wanted for Christmas. They would then take this information and, unbeknownst to the kids, set out to find the items on the store&#8217;s shelves.</p><p>Of course, what Santa decided little Johnny and Mary were deserving of was predicated on mommy and daddy&#8217;s ability to pay. This was when a Merry Christmas was based on affordability, not credit approval.</p><p>So despite WalletHub&#8217;s listing of the best buys this year, I really can&#8217;t imagine asking for some of 2017&#8217;s most popular gift ideas.</p><p>For example, if I were a kid today, would I dare ask Santa for a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Gaming Laptop that goes for $369? Or, Santa, please put a Sony 70-inch Class Smart/4K Ultra HD TV ($800) in your sleigh? How about a Canon EOS REBEL T6 DSLR Camera for $300?</p><p>But here&#8217;s the kicker &#8212; kids today may ask for all three of these items and more.</p><p>Back in the day, we were lucky to get a new bike or baseball glove. We might have to settle for one special item &#8212; one thing we really wanted &#8212; and the rest of our gifts would be new pants, shirts, jackets, socks or shoes.</p><p>Thanks, Santa.</p><p>My point is not only has the price of Christmas gone way up, the expectations of kids today demanding such expensive items is out of control. Gone are the days of parents telling children, &#8220;You&#8217;ll be happy with what you get.&#8221;</p><p>Look, I was an only child and I still never got all I asked for &#8212; and I did ask. But I was never disappointed. Nor was I jealous of anything my neighborhood buddies got because we all shared. We would visit each other and play together with each other&#8217;s Christmas presents. We never bragged that we got something better than someone else.</p><p>Sure I long for those good old days. I wish I could go back and sit at the table with mom and dad and my aunts and uncles and cousins and enjoy the true spirit of Thanksgiving and Christmas without ever looking down at my cell phone to check for text messages or Facebook posts.</p><p>Values and traditions meant everything back then. Decorated trees and homes, ethnic foods, finely wrapped presents, company coming over, politeness, courtesy, fellowship, faith and good food &#8212; including a Whitman&#8217;s Sampler &#8212; all made the holidays bright.</p><p>A light snowfall on the way to Midnight Mass was icing on the cake.</p><p>Have a Happy Thanksgiving &#8212; enjoy the time together and give thanks for all you have. Even that damn cell phone.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Columnshot-1-1-1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at boboyle@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: Keep holiday traditions alive