Print Edition: November 29, 2008
THANKFUL FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Thanksgiving has just clicked by on the calendar which means we’re officially in the holiday season. As has been my practice in doing this column over the years, during the holidays I only focus on good news, positive stories, or things I find humorous.
One of the things I like best about the holidays is that people seem friendlier and better mannered. It turns out that just the simple act of being grateful and expressing thanks improves our overall well being. Thanking God, thanking others, or just having gratitude for what we have lowers blood pressure, relieves stress, reduces disorders like depression and alcoholism, and improves pain management.
Studies done at the University of California-Riverside and the University of California-Davis found that practicing gratitude changes people by changing brains that are wired for negativity. They don’t focus as much on problems but rather on friends, families and communities.
The bottom line is that as you’re out and about this holiday season, just saying please and thank you, holding a door open for someone, or practicing a bit of patience will go a long way to making you and others get more enjoyment from this special time of year.
Of course, this weekend is all about shopping, so perhaps you’ve been up before daybreak scouring the local stores for bargains. Ladies, I hope you didn’t subject your husband or significant other to this endeavor because it’s a scientific fact that he is just not genetically disposed toward shopping. In fact, shopping could cause him grievous damage.
According to British psychologist David Lewis, men don’t simply hate shopping, it’s downright hazardous to their health. "In some cases, when we looked at heart rate and blood pressure, we found readings you’d expect to see in a fighter pilot going into combat," the British researcher said. Lewis tested a number of volunteers aged 22–79, sending them on Christmas shopping trips. All of the men, but only one in four women, showed significant signs of stress. However, Lewis theorizes, not every shopping expedition would stress men out. "Men like shopping, provided they’re going out to buy a Lear jet or a Porsche or a computer or something," he said.
So here’s the rule of thumb if you’re thinking of taking your hubby on a shopping foray to the big box store. If you’re going to shop for a jet airplane, take him. If you’re going to shop for anything else, leave him home.
That said, it’s been my experience that if men are required to shop they would rather do so online. This is fine as long as they don’t run across a "need to have" item, like the one recently offered by a gentleman in Romania.
The ad placed on a web site that specializes in used cars went as follows: "Wife for sale. Model 1983, good condition. Full options, nice suspensions, spacious boot, second owner. Price is negotiable, comes with 3-year-old and 5-year-old accessories."
The man who placed the ad, Alex Cretu, 20, of Bucharest priced his wife at $10,250 in hopes of a quick sale. He says he has had several offers, but either the offer is too low or the buyers wanted to pay in installments. No word on what his wife thinks of the deal because Cretu admits he waited until she went on a business trip to place the ad. Before she returns home, I think Alex might want to think less about what presents he’s going to buy with that $10 grand and think more about pricing out a really good health insurance policy.
Health insurance would also be a good idea for a pair of "shoppers" who decided to use the "five finger discount" shopping strategy at the Wal-Mart in Madison Township, Ohio. A security officer noticed the two men were acting suspiciously and watched as one tucked a camera under his clothing. He walked out the grocery side of the store where officers confronted him whereupon the man who allegedly took the camera, Jose M. Diaz Jr., 35, ran and slammed into the store's glass door, cutting his head. He then kicked at a security officer, got back up, and ran again, this time smacking headlong into a cement post in front of the store. That was enough to stop Diaz, who was then taken to jail. The bad news is Diaz did not get to keep the camera. The good news is he now has some nifty black and white mug shots that he’ll be able to use on his Christmas cards.
Finally, while you’re out shopping all your kidlings will be at home whining about how there’s nothing to do. Have no fear, because as a public service I’ve put together a swell holidays web page at www.neffzone.com/holidays.htm. On the page are things to read about Christmas, Kwanza, and Hanukah, a wide range of holiday games and contests, things you can make and print out, a Naughty or Nice meter, and much more.
Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments at neffzone@gmail.com. Read Neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.
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