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Diamonds and Coal: Thanksgiving volunteers good, people fighting in stores bad

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WBS Penguins erase five-goal deficit before falling in overtime

<p>My buddy Alner was so tired from his Black Friday shopping that he wasn&#8217;t even sure he&#8217;d come over to watch the game.</p><p>&#8220;No offense,&#8221; he said still unloading his car as the sun went down. &#8220;But the crowds and the traffic&#8230; And I didn&#8217;t even get all the stuff I wanted.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Alner, old pal,&#8221; I said, clapping him on the shoulder. &#8220;I can see you&#8217;re a victim of modern times. So, let&#8217;s&#8230;&#8221;</p><p>Before I could finish my sentence, he was bolting up his front steps, trailing bags that he&#8217;d dropped. But, as usual, I was too quick for him. Within seconds, thanks to my power of metaphysical travel we were heading down a typical Wyoming Valley street of times past.</p><p>&#8220;You know, I still have a lot of shopping to do,&#8221; he grumbled.</p><p>&#8220;Relax, Alner,&#8221; I said. &#8220;This visit to the 1950s will do you more good than a BOGO sale.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Hey,&#8221; he called out. &#8220;We can&#8217;t just go up on someone&#8217;s porch like this.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Haven&#8217;t I ever explained my power of bionic invisibility?&#8221; I sighed. &#8220;They can&#8217;t see us. Now let&#8217;s go in. I want to show you a few things.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t believe we&#8217;re in somebody&#8217;s living room,&#8221; he moaned. &#8220;And it&#8217;s all set up for Christmas.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Elementary, my dear Alner. And, you know, these folks didn&#8217;t have to charge like the cavalry into the stores, fighting crowds for the latest hot item. Right now, in fact, they&#8217;re out somewhere, relaxing with friends. They&#8217;ll get the job done in good time.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Should I take notes?&#8221; he asked.</p><p>&#8220;Very funny. My point is that there was once another way to experience our holiday, a more leisurely way. Take a look at that tree.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all covered with silver stuff.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re foil icicles,&#8221; I said. &#8220;People in this time don&#8217;t get nervous breakdowns over shopping. They have the time and energy to drape their Christmas trees with icicles, a very time-consuming process that very few folks in our day do. You ever do that?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Ah, no, no,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;These people don&#8217;t even own a car. When they want to buy a gift or two, they take the bus downtown on Saturday or one of the shopping nights. Maybe they run into some neighbors and stop for coffee and chat a while&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;They found everything downtown?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Pretty much. Some stores delivered larger items. They didn&#8217;t have an Internet, but if you&#8217;ll look over on that coffee table, you&#8217;ll see a Christmas catalogue full of neat stuff to order. By the way, what sort of &#8216;greetings of the season&#8217; do you get in January?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Uh, the credit card bills.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;These folks have already paid for everything in cash. Primitive, huh?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;OK, but did the kids enjoy this time of year?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;You better believe it, Alner, old buddy. The older people remember the depression and the war. They buy the best they can and are grateful for what they receive. They try to pass these values on. If you get a bike or a dollhouse or a record player, that&#8217;s something you&#8217;ll remember for the rest of your life. Doesn&#8217;t matter what Johnny or Mary down the block got.&#8221;</p><p>Alner looked pensive.</p><p>&#8220;Got a question,&#8221; he said as we returned to the present. &#8220;What time&#8217;s the game? I have to make one more trip to my car.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Oh, you&#8217;ve reformed?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Yeah, I guess, I had to shove some people aside, but I got the chips and dip. Lead on.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tom Mooney Mug</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TOM_MOONEY-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tom Mooney Mug</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Mooney</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: We experienced the holidays in leisurely style