Shorts… on December 16th in Boston…it was almost warm enough to wear shorts when I went out for my Saturday morning walk through my West Cambridge neighborhood. Many retail stores on Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard Square and Porter Square have been for weeks beladen with Christmas shtick and bathed in schmaltzy Christmas music inescapably continuous from store to store: Hark, I’m Dreaming of Herald Silver Bells because it’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Joy to the Angels We Have Heard, High on Chestnuts, Roasting Away in a Manger blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Sigh………
On the homeward leg of my walk, I passed the Christmassy fancy paper store and the Christmassy sock store and the bagel place and, when I reached the next corner, I looked down to see a sign posted in front of a women’s clothing store.
“We don’t play Christmas music.”
“Oh, my goodness,” I thought. “Brilliant! An oasis. Seasonal peace.” Oh, come, all ye faithful, joyful yet muzak-worn.
It was contrarian without being Grinchy, memorable without being excessive. In short, in a homogenized mush of Christmas cacophony, it STOOD OUT!
Nick Miller is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. He assists banks and credit unions to generate more and more profitable relationships, faster, with business clients, their owners, and their employees through better sales strategies and execution. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.
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