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It is funny how life's little coincidences can give you that sense of deja vu. Last night we went to a movie at the mall, followed by some shopping and dinner. This was a huge step as my better half hates shopping and crowds. So I was nervous about us having to go to the biggest mall in town with less than two weeks left before Christmas. Unfortunately, the movie we wanted to see was only playing there.
Surprisingly, the crowds were not bad at all! On a side note, we saw"Love the Coopers" as we are huge Diane Keaton fans. The movie was okay. A little depressing actually for a holiday film and not as funny as I had thought it would be, fyi.
As we were making a purchase at the first store on our list there was a woman also at the cashier desk who had absolutely no Christmas spirit and was completely rude to her sales clerk. Just like the rude man in last night's story, "Shoppers rush home with their Treasures", this woman felt that it was more than okay to take out whatever frustrations she had on strangers.
The clerk helping us asked if we would like to donate to the Children's Hospital and if we did they would match our donation. We said sure and then she rang a sleigh bell and whopped and hollered. This drove the woman next to us nuts. She was then asked the same question by her clerk and she rolled her eyes and said, "Not a chance" which took both us and the staff aback. We gathered our item, thanked the clerks for their help and then turned to the woman beside us and said in unison, "Merry Christmas!" Maybe that gave her pause to think about her attitude before she spread her negativity elsewhere. I hope so!
As we headed to the center of the mall I was struck by the design of Santa's Village. It was set up exactly the way I had penned it in Annie and Darren's story! Two lines - one an "Express" line and the other one not. Just like at the airport with Business and Economy lines for boarding. Crazy! Is that really necessary? Do people need to have that option because they are just so busy in their lives nowadays? I was interested to note though that the Express line was empty so whatever premium they were charging for that service was not bringing in the big bucks for them. Instead all those regular folks were squished into one line with half the available space roped off.
The rest of our shopping went smoothly and we had excellent service at all the stores. It is not easy to work in retail at this time of year, and yet - everyone we encountered was positive and upbeat! Hats off to them for making the rest of our evening a pleasant experience!
Like Annie's act of spontaneous charity in the story, can we all just try to make someone else's day a little better next time we are out in public? We all know that a negative mind will never bring about a positive life but if you are in a negative frame of mind - keep it to yourself ... please! Or, better yet - shop online! LOL!
The illustration that Bonnie Lemaire did for this story really must be applauded. All of the illustrations are beautiful and I could not be more pleased, but this one really shines as she captured Annie and Darren perfectly! People who know the real Annie and Darren asked if I sent Bonnie a photo. The answer to that is "No." In fact, Bonnie and I have actually never even spoken to one another! The process with my publisher was that I had to write a brief description for Bonnie, outlining my vision for the drawing and what key elements needed to be included. Even though I chose Bonnie based on a portfolio of her past work, and knew how talented she was, I remember gasping when I saw the first sketch for this story. It was like she knew Annie and Darren herself! Amazing! Thank you Bonnie for bringing the stories to life!
Stay positive everyone and Shine On!
- K
Surprisingly, the crowds were not bad at all! On a side note, we saw"Love the Coopers" as we are huge Diane Keaton fans. The movie was okay. A little depressing actually for a holiday film and not as funny as I had thought it would be, fyi.
As we were making a purchase at the first store on our list there was a woman also at the cashier desk who had absolutely no Christmas spirit and was completely rude to her sales clerk. Just like the rude man in last night's story, "Shoppers rush home with their Treasures", this woman felt that it was more than okay to take out whatever frustrations she had on strangers.
The clerk helping us asked if we would like to donate to the Children's Hospital and if we did they would match our donation. We said sure and then she rang a sleigh bell and whopped and hollered. This drove the woman next to us nuts. She was then asked the same question by her clerk and she rolled her eyes and said, "Not a chance" which took both us and the staff aback. We gathered our item, thanked the clerks for their help and then turned to the woman beside us and said in unison, "Merry Christmas!" Maybe that gave her pause to think about her attitude before she spread her negativity elsewhere. I hope so!
As we headed to the center of the mall I was struck by the design of Santa's Village. It was set up exactly the way I had penned it in Annie and Darren's story! Two lines - one an "Express" line and the other one not. Just like at the airport with Business and Economy lines for boarding. Crazy! Is that really necessary? Do people need to have that option because they are just so busy in their lives nowadays? I was interested to note though that the Express line was empty so whatever premium they were charging for that service was not bringing in the big bucks for them. Instead all those regular folks were squished into one line with half the available space roped off.
The rest of our shopping went smoothly and we had excellent service at all the stores. It is not easy to work in retail at this time of year, and yet - everyone we encountered was positive and upbeat! Hats off to them for making the rest of our evening a pleasant experience!
Like Annie's act of spontaneous charity in the story, can we all just try to make someone else's day a little better next time we are out in public? We all know that a negative mind will never bring about a positive life but if you are in a negative frame of mind - keep it to yourself ... please! Or, better yet - shop online! LOL!
The illustration that Bonnie Lemaire did for this story really must be applauded. All of the illustrations are beautiful and I could not be more pleased, but this one really shines as she captured Annie and Darren perfectly! People who know the real Annie and Darren asked if I sent Bonnie a photo. The answer to that is "No." In fact, Bonnie and I have actually never even spoken to one another! The process with my publisher was that I had to write a brief description for Bonnie, outlining my vision for the drawing and what key elements needed to be included. Even though I chose Bonnie based on a portfolio of her past work, and knew how talented she was, I remember gasping when I saw the first sketch for this story. It was like she knew Annie and Darren herself! Amazing! Thank you Bonnie for bringing the stories to life!
Stay positive everyone and Shine On!
- K