Wednesday, August 17, 2011

RUSHIN' THE SEASON


There’s a saying in the South:   Rushin’ the Season.   I know we’ve been praying and hoping for a break in the weather, and seem to have come out on the other side of that drastic heat.  The skies are blue with the poufiest clouds, the sun twinkles through the refreshed-by-the-rain trees and bushes, and it’s heavenly to BE out there in the sunshine when it’s in the early—morning sixties and right-now 72.

But Y’all, we went to Cracker Barrel for a late lunch on Sunday, and they just Take It Too Far.  I headed over to the little Clearance Corner while he registered, and looked over the little display of beach stuff and garden stuff and that one draggled pink rabbit probably still languishing from the February after-Easter sales.

I heard a little noise, and something bumped me in the back.   As I turned, I was face to face with an immense purple satin hat, atop  the stick of a cackly broom circling the floor like some zany Hogwarts roomba.    I could practically hear strains of The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Broomba churkled some more, reversed, and headed off toward the canned apples and old-fashioned candy, as people parted before her heedless path, scooting their feet out of the way and doing that little batter's-tuck like when the pitcher zips one a little too close to his mid-section.

 
 Not my picture---this one's from Youtube.  Mine had a more interesting hat---an enormous purple number that was a cross between a smushed velvet rose and Miss Belle Watling's lampshade.

I ask you, folks---who would BUY that thing, and what IS it with the headlong plunge into the holidays, when we’re still wiping the Coppertone sweat from our brows and shaking sand out of the Samsonite?

There were whole displays of pumpkin-and-cat stuff, and great shelves of turkey-and-corn dishware and décor, as well as sweatshirts and jackets and sweaters in all the above.  

And worst of all, as we stood at the counter to pay, we could hear a muted Jingle Bells from the far corner shelves sneaking quite a few Santas and trees into the landscape.

I  hope that the demand for that purple-hatted broom is so great that they’ll all have been snatched up before our next visit.

(And I looked to see if there were a picture of the thing, and there’s only a video, posted in JULY).

8 comments:

  1. They get ahead of there self more every year.

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  2. Actually I DID see some Halloween stuff here the other day. It was tiny little Play-Dough's for the children's treats. Guess they knew that Chocolate Candy would melt before we got to the car here in Texas. We are still drying on the vine...so depressing...100+ and can't even conjure up a white puffy cloud!

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  3. Hello Rachel, I have missed several of your posts but have no fear. I read them all. You have been a busy gal. Company you love, delicious melon and blueberries, fig preserves,(Mmmmmmmm) cooler weather to enjoy, a school memory, and most of all 'Rushin the Season' observations. I agree with you about the season craze. I rally do not enjoy the seasonal stuff out there already. If I saw that crazy Hogwarts broom I would have been shocked. HA!

    I'm glad you had a wonderful visit with loved ones. We have had the same fun wi5h family as you know. I am sorry I haven't been over to visit. I missed you and your awesome posts. Now I want to relax and get back to normal.
    Love, Jeanne

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  4. S'ok! We'll take your word for it..not picture needed. I saw those brooms that move around last year..and lots of other mechanical stuff..witches that sit on your porch with the treats in a bowl and are activated when someone come in front of them..then they cackle and offer the candy..the head moves etc.

    I haven't seen any Halloween things out, but then I haven't been to the stores for the last month. (Been hanging around ebay and garage sales.)
    Yep..that would unnerve me to if I suddenly came face to face with one of those..or worse, back to face!!
    :)
    Mona

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  5. Talk about rushing the season! Ouch. That Halloween stuff should show up no earlier than mid-October when nights are getting chilly and a lady needs to wear a cardigan to run to the grocery store or the library.

    I love the food at Cracker Barrel, but as I've said before, I don't eat there for political and humanistic reasons. But I'll cut them a break about rushing the season: should you hit Michael's or Hobby Lobby or Joanne's I betcha all that orange and black stuff is for sale. We all need to take a breath and hold the holiday in our own time, like when I'm kicking through piles of leaves, with squash roasting in the oven.

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  6. Your post was tooooo funny....I was thinking the same thing while out shopping yesterday....Halloween stuff everywhere and but I must say I didn't see any Christmas goodies...YET....
    Have a wonderful day....
    Hugs,
    Mo :-)

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  7. It drives me crazy, too, but having worked retail fairly recently, I found out the WHY of it. You have to order what you want fairly early in the year, or you might not get it. Then the distributors send it out, so they don't have to store it. And most stores don't have much storage space at all (storage space doesn't generate income), so they have to display it. That explains it...but it still grumps me.

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