CHRISTMAS IS NEAR

I heard my first Christmas music on the car radio on Monday afternoon on the way home from a meeting. Christmas is back on my favorite classical music station. This is Christmas music my style – no “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Clause,” just the good, traditional stuff. Once December is here, I can enjoy Christmas music.  I even found an article that said that listening to Christmas music too early is bad for your health. I believe it! Before December 1^st I’m an old Scrooge.  

Right now, I’m delighted it’s December 7^th. It’s the last day we’ll have to endure the tidal wave of TV ads for seniors to switch or sign up for Medicare supplement plans. I wish Medicre.gov had chimed in sooner with their ads. That’s the one place anyone shopping for coverage should go to get unbiased, unpaid information.

Ha, the sneaks, there’s even a Medicare.com. They do say, at the end, that they’re not affiliated with the government. Somehow, I don’t trust website like these that promise to refer you to the best of any type of service, from finding a doctor, to a realtor, to a house painter. I suppose the recommended don’t mind paying for referrals through a recommender, it’s a part of the new costs of doing business, but it smacks of extortion.

Cute, but I'll pass on this.

But I’ve digressed. No matter the day on the calendar, you know Christmas is near when they begin to trot out the old TV ads for fancy watches, Norelco shavers, the Clapper, and, good grief, Chia Pets. Now they’ve gone beyond the sheep and other animals and made one like Bob Ross’s fuzzy head, one like our POTUS, and several other equally ugly versions. I’ve never given or received a Chia Pet – I hope things stay this way.

  

That little red one is mine!

Any time they’re on, though, I will always stop to look at the Christmas ads for Mercedes Benz. They are very clever.  I like the one where Santa does a switcheroo and swaps the red sleigh for a gorgeous red Mercedes. Or the one here his red Mercedes is “pulled” by eight white ones. And another where the huge car hauler on the left is carrying “Naughty” red Mercedes models, and the hauler on the right is carrying white “Nice” ones. Yes, clever.

Choices! Choices!