When I was a little girl, one of the most magical things about the Christmas season was in a book that arrived at our home each year. At about a couple of inches thick, it was filled with the dreams of every good girl and boy at Christmastime. (Well, I’m sure the bad ones like what was in it too, but we’re just talking about the good ones now.)
It was the Sears catalog.
When it arrived, I would hurry to flip through and find the best section of all—toys! I would fold down pages and circle items. My friend, Sandy, and I would talk about everything we wanted to ask Santa for and what we thought we’d actually get.
It was a fun time.
Now, though, that magical catalog is long gone. But there are some to take its place.
The problem is that it’s not just one catalog—there are literally hundreds.
I always know when the holiday season has begun—and it’s usually late October or early November—because that’s when my mail gets a bit out of hand.
Don’t get me wrong; overall, I love getting mail that isn’t bills or junk. But last year, once I realized how many catalogs I was getting, I decided to count them.
Just before Christmas, I tallied them up. In less than two months, I had received 157 catalogs.
157!
One company that I used to order from, sent the most—eight separate catalogs.
I was going to try to figure out how many trees we could have saved, but I knew that would just depress me.
And before you give me websites where I can email to get off all the catalog lists, please note — I don’t want to get off of all of them. Some, I actually like.
But other catalogs that I receive completely puzzle me.
For example, it makes sense when I’ve ordered from a place before, for them to send me a catalog. It would be part of any Business 101 course: Retain previous customers.
It also makes sense to get them from companies who sell similar products to the ones I’ve purchased before. Again, Business 101: Know your market.
So why I received a catalog this year about buying heavy farming equipment is beyond me.
Business 101: Um, somebody didn’t read the assignment…
I grew up in the city. I’ve been to farms, but never worked on or owned one.
Yeah, we compost and grow spices in our yard so that we can use fresh ones on our food when the weather is good.
But it’s not like we’ve got acres of vegetable gardens or actually run a full-fledged farm of any kind.
Not surprisingly, I looked through it anyway. I’m naturally curious and wanted to see what they offer.
My husband glanced across the table as I perused pages of compact tractors and then sub-compact tractors. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Nothing. Just looking,” I responded. I put the catalog aside for recycling.
Luckily for me, there will be at least 157 others for me to look through. And their products won’t cause me to buy a barn first.
Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski, when she’s still wondering if a small tractor could fit in her garage, writes “Wojo’s World®” from Baltimore. She’s also the author of the award-winning book Next Time I Move, They’ll Carry Me Out in a Box. You can connect with Wojo on Facebook or on Twitter.
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