Well, it is officially December. We survived the mad dash on Thanksgiving night at some of the retailers around the country and the videos of those scenes make me wonder why we are so easily conditioned by the retailers that we are willing to give up sacred time with our loved ones on a holiday just to get the next biggest and more modern something or other. With the Advent season upon us, it has become more about what we can do for the retailers “lately” than about Christmas. We rarely mention the word “Christmas” anymore during the entire month. We have become a society of mall driven consumers during the month of December. While those who have an abundance of money can afford to shop, and shop some more, and shop even more than that, those who find themselves unemployed and now without unemployment benefits have the additional stress of finding ways to enjoy the season without income.