Shop early, shop often and shop local this holiday season

Someone said there was a football game in Pittsburgh on Sunday. That’s odd, because I never found a football game. I saw a thrashing though.

Just think, only a couple more weeks and all this craziness will be over, and we can go back to being civil with each other. I’m sure that the national media will do the same. You know, those networks that now only cover the news that they want to cover, not the news that should be covered. Depending on your persuasion of course. But would it be too much to ask for them to treat things equally across the political divide?

The question that I have to ask is this – are we as “regular ‘ol Americans” as far apart on the issues as the media (when I refer to the media in this column I am referring to the national networks and metropolitan newspapers unless otherwise stated) makes it out to be? And perhaps the larger question is this – are they the ones that helped put us there?

The media is supposed to report the facts – not report on what they think the facts are – what I see happening in this current trend – which has been ongoing now for several years – is that there is a lot of spin, mistruths and news not being reported that should be.

I suppose if we were in those boardrooms we would know the reason why – but you only need to look at the ownership and you can figure it out from there for the most part. I wonder if “they” think the average American is just not smart enough to see through – in many cases – their façade. I wonder.

Enough pandering about going down that rabbit hole – the Buckeyes start this weekend! Something to look forward to I suppose – it will be an unusual atmosphere with limited fans in the stands, but I am sure we can expect the Buckeyes to play their best regardless.

It’s the Dodgers and Tampa Bay in the World Series – prediction – Dodgers in six games.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Just based on casual conversations with folks- yep, a lot of people have. The pundits are saying that folks will shop earlier this season – and the deals will be positive for consumers.

Here’s a suggestion – after you prepare your list and check it twice – think about everything on your list that you can purchase locally – and then think about items that could be purchased locally to replace the ones on your list that you can’t find in our community. Gift cards are a great way to support a local business and there is no better method than picking up a gift card to a local business. This helps cash flow, and, in some cases, it can also get someone new into a local business.

As you consider this avenue, branch out from the typical “name brand store” and focus on supporting our local restaurants, mom and pop shops, specialty shopping and others.

Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion