Last Minute Frenzy

The stores are jam packed, filled to rhe rafters but we're not talking merchandise, we're talking people. All those poor souls who have left their Xmas to do lists until 2 days before the eve now populate the stores in much the same way I imagine the small outposts were populated during the days of the Gold Rush. This migratory pattern however is unmotivated by any type of monetary reward; instead people seem to be fighting to stake their claims in the aisles, which have clearly become todays mother lodes. Once they have what they so desperately seek, could even be argyle socks...they head straight for the cashier to "register" their claims, oops I mean purchase their wares. Does this sudden accumulation of potential wealth- of course I meant to say -"things" make them happy? If yes I wager there would be a lot less bickering at those check out counters. What about the recipients of the bounty? If they were happy to receive, then would there still be such a high ratio of regifting? I think that the whole process strikes fear in all hearts; the giver and the receiver alike. Nowhere is there a trace of honesty. The giver will not admit to spending as little as possible although these times dictate frugality, and the receiver will never admit to the absolute uselessness of the "GIFT" for fear of insulting anyone. So in all I'd say stay home, do not buy, do not race willy nilly up and down the aisles otherwise you are guaranteed to catch something from being in such close proximity to assorted microbes. Last minute frenzy can only turn out to be a lose lose situation.