Bob Tomaszewski
Staff Writer
November has officially begun, yet people are already shifting towards the Holidays. Though pumpkins may be rotting on the sidewalk it is still fall. However, as soon as Halloween ends, fall and Thanksgiving are harshly pushed aside to make room for winter festivities. The horror of this is evident when you walk through downtown Naperville.
The lamp posts are littered with garland, lights are twinkling in the trees, and several shops have already decorated for the winter season. David’s Tea has holiday window stickers lurking on the glass as people pass by the Café. Starbucks recently started using a holiday scheme on its cups with a red background and burgundy snowflakes.
It is bad enough that snow has entered our radar and even made an appearance on Halloween, why the reminder? The trauma from last year’s polar vortex is approaching and is not something any of us have fully come to terms with. Festive or not festive it is not Thanksgiving.
I am surprised that anyone would be eager to experience winter, because I am experiencing winter post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is of course resulting from the polar vortex last year that actually forced the campus to close its doors multiple times, and left everyone frozen to the core. As a commuter it is generally unpleasant trying to start your car when the temperature plummets below zero.
It is only a matter of time before the season change extends beyond the holiday decorations and sends us winter catalogs whilst fall colors still grace the trees. At least some people are fighting against the seasonal shift.
GameStop and Costco recently announced that they will not be open on Thanksgiving out of respect to their employees. The scary part was that it was news, with the modern trend being to start Black Friday on Thanksgiving. Black Friday can’t be patient enough either, teaming up with winter to brutally murder what little fall we have left. Winter stay away, far away, your time has not yet come.
