The display in this photo may appear to be somewhat early, but that is the state of the current retail environment. Business is so much more sophisticated and competitive. The general increase in foreknowledge of holiday sales has lead to an enormous expectation on the part of businesses. So now, retailers extend holiday periods as much as possible in hopes of driving more sales. Historically, the Christmas season has begun on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. However, we now see many retailers with Christmas displays and ornamentation well in advance of Thanksgiving.

For many retailers, profit or loss for the entire year depends on Christmas sales, so I am sympathetic to a degree. But on the other hand, the overly aggressive marketing, advertising, and promotion can become distasteful, turning holidays into nothing but commercial events. Soon we risk having a perennial Christmas. I am not against celebration, but one must be careful, or the spirit and meaning of holidays can be easily lost.

Autumn and Halloween are very much times defined by nature and the outdoors. Pumpkins and straw are visual treats for city dwellers, much-needed reminders that there is a world apart from concrete, asphalt, glass. and steel. The city has to put its own spin on many holidays, keeping as many key elements as we can and improvising the rest. Trick-or-treat at Halloween is one holiday activity that is severely curtailed.

But we have pumpkins – wonderful eye candy for triggering memories of shuffling though fallen leaves or the excitement of making the neighborhood rounds on Halloween…

Labor Day is celebrated as a day off for the working class. We live in a country where entrepreneurism is extolled and promoted in media to the extent that to be a member of the working class almost implies failure in the American dream. But society only needs a very small number of chiefs, and very few have the unique combination of skills and temperament to be one. So an appreciation and recognition of those soldiers who are the foundation and engine of the economy is welcome.

I come from a working class background and from an extremely austere area in a part of the country synonymous with the work ethic: New England. In my family’s case, northern Maine. In my family, work defines a person, personal wealth much less so unless acquired through very hard work.

In such an environment where survival is virtually the only concern, the need for every able body to work imposes an egalitarianism. In a way, women’s rights were old news for us – no time or place in this world for sexism. In fact, most families were quite matriarchal, with wives controlling the finances and major decisions. My father was taken out of school at age 12 to work full-time as a woodcutter in the north woods of Maine in winters with temperatures as low as -40 degrees. Potato picking was the only other industry – grueling work with 12-hour days. Workers lived in camps onsite for the duration of the the picking season – everyone picked, even children. The school year was adjusted to accommodate this important time, one of the few opportunities to make money.

So I have been indelibly stamped with the importance of work, and it has become part of the fabric of my being. As I grow older, the importance of work has become greater. Try as I may, I cannot shake my intolerance for lack of ambition and hard work in others.

I am reminded of a family trip to Versailles, one of the most remarkable testaments to lavish, opulent excess in the world. We entered one of the King’s bedchambers with woodwork which had been exquisitely and painstaking hand-carved. My father’s comment should have come as no surprise (although it did at the time) and left a lasting impression of how a man like him sees the world. After scanning the room and reflecting on it, he said, “There’s a lot of work in here.”

Today, of course, is July 4th, Independence Day in the USA. I have never been a flag-waving American. In fact, my generation was particularly unpatriotic. I grew up in a time of protest – the Vietnam War, draft card burning, and marches to Washington. But as I have aged and learned, I have a greater appreciation for what this country has to offer.

I am not blind to the problems here – over emphasis on money and capitalism, extreme ethnocentrism, racism, lack of national medical coverage, exportation of American values and culture, dumbing down of society, decline in educational achievement, and decline of the dollar and rise of the Euro.
But in the course of my business and personal life, I have met thousands of individuals from across the world, and conversation frequently turns to culture and countries. I get positive impressions of this country from them.

There is a clamor to get into this country – an average of one half of a million immigration applications are filed each month. Of course, the quality of life is certainly excellent in many other places (some would argue better), and most non-USA citizens are happy to live in their native land.

I think the biggest thing I have learned is that freedom and opportunity are not hollow words. For the ambitious, skilled, and hard-working, there is opportunity in America. But here, like anywhere else, there is competition, and many outsiders are deluded into thinking that all Americans are wealthy and that the streets are paved with gold. TV, film, and the desire for instant gratification all contribute to these false ideas about the American Dream. There is plenty of gold here, but it has to be mined…