What was I thinking? This afternoon—Christmas Eve day—I
found myself standing in line with hundreds of others—mostly parents and
grandparents with a smattering of children—on the third floor of Macy’s Center
City waiting to see Santa. Well, I didn't exactly want to see Santa myself. I
wanted to see the Dickens Village that was the prelude to Santa, and then I thought
it might be fun to catch a glimpse of actual children sitting on Santa’s lap. Then
I realized I had a rather skewed idea of fun.
Years ago, on that very same day, I had bravely marched into
Macy’s in Herald Square to pick up a last minute gift only to find myself in a
sea of people so thick it was impossible to even reach the escalator on the
first floor. I left without the gift, and I swore to myself I would never do
that again. So what possessed me to venture back into Macy’s? I don’t know, it
just seemed like a good idea at the time.
