They will listen to the story over and over again. They will beg us to tell it just one last time. And we will, because we will understand the importance of passing these memories down to our ancestors.

On January 20th 2009, America changed. We changed. Everything changed forever. We knew there was no going back.

Because on that day, this happened.

All other events of this day will pale in comparison to the discovery of this video. The credit for the find could go to the Fearsome Foursome radio hosts, but I like to believe that fate had a little something to do with this.

“We were looking for a song to play and I found this CD just laying on the table,” says WBUQ host Andrew “Sugarcubes” Wakelee. “We found a track listing for this song and I couldn’t believe it.”

“I like to think an angel left it here for us to find,” admitted Tali “Dr. Lovebuckets” Zangari.

Having the incredible honor to listen to this duet makes me never want to write again, because I know deep in my heart that I could never create anything as beautiful.

Can we now say that we as a human race have come as close to artistic perfection as we ever will?

In my opinion?  Yes we can.

(The Fearsome Foursome can be heard every Tuesday from 10 to midnight on WBUQ 91.1 The Revolution)

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We all have one christmas that stands out in our memories.  Sometimes it’s receiveing the gift you have always wanted. More often it’s about coping with a gift you absolutely dreaded.  Most girls dream about a new Barbie sitting under the tree while boys dream of a new baseball glove.  

However, we have all had that one gift that we dreamt about only in our nightmares. The gift from our grandparents that made us cry.  Now, these aren’t tears of joy. They are tears of sadness.  Children across the nation mourn when they tear open a perfectly wrapped box, only to see a bright red sweater with giant reindeer staring back at them. 

           First, let me start with a brief history of the ugly sweater.  Ugly Christmas sweaters are normally worn by children between the ages of three and twelve. It starts out being cute. “Oh look at little Susie wearing her colorful Christmas shirt!”  That is okay to say when little Susie is four, but when little Susie is twelve and still wearing that cute, little, colorful Christmas shirt, then we have a problem. 

           Opening up these sweaters on Christmas is twenty times worse than wearing one.  Receiving this hideous gift means we are forced to fake excitement because we don’t want to hurt Aunt Mildred’s feelings. 

            Another group of people that wear these sweaters are teachers and moms.  We have all seen a friend’s mom sporting their holiday cheer through a Christmas vest.  Even our teachers in elementary school would declare their love for each holiday with an ugly sweater.  How could anyone forget a teacher who wore that Halloween haunted house sweater vest. 

           Over the years though, many college students have come to have a love-hate relationship with this item of clothing.  The relationship between college students and ugly sweaters has become a complicated one.

           When students come back to school after Thanksgiving break, they normally only have one thing on their mind (and no it isn’t finals).  College students have found that there is normally one weekend left before finals start and they plan to take full advantage of that.  They plan parties to celebrate the end of the semester and the arrival of Christmas.  These are no ordinary Christmas parties though where you are asked to wear red and green.  These parties ask students to dig their worst holiday sweaters out from their closets and wear them one last time. 

            “My ugly sweaters and I have a love-hate relationship. I love to wear them to an ugly sweater party, but hate the way they look,” one Bloomsburg senior said.  “These parties are so much fun.  It reminds me of the holidays I had when I was younger! It’s a lot of fun to see everyone wearing them and just having a good time.” 

            When asked if she had a favorite ugly sweater moment, she started to laugh.  “It’s actually quite funny.  I was about ten and my grandmother came to visit for Christmas.  The box was wrapped neatly and felt pretty heavy.  I thought it was a Barbie house I wanted…but when I opened it, my face went numb.  A red sweatshirt with two cows was what I saw.  It gets worse, they had matching red sweatpants.  Tears were running down my face, I didn’t know what to do.  My poor grandmother thought I was crying because I liked it so much, boy was that a lie!” 

           This Bloomsburg student, who would like to go unnamed, also spoke about another sweater she received.  This time it was Christmas themed and had giant snowmen and snowflakes on it.  She had to wear this sweater for the next two years at Christmas dinner, until she received a new sweater!

            We have all had a terrible outfit we were forced to wear, but now it seems the older we get, the more we embrace those dreadful sweaters.  College students find them as a source of laugher and reminisce about their own terrible sweater moments.  No matter how hard we tried to escape the ugly sweaters, they will always to be around to haunt us.  These parties are a way to make fun of the sweaters we once hated but instead of sitting in the corner and sulking like we did when we were ten; we have learned how to cope with these appalling items of clothing.  We throw huge parties where we celebrate the true ugliness of the sweaters while consuming frosted beverages.  Now go out and celebrate your ugly sweaters, Happy Holidays!

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National statistics reported by the Gallup Poll show that, on average, Americans are spending more daily than before Thanksgiving, but Americans report lower average anticipated spending on gifts this year than in any previous year in which the measure has been updated. Also, the number of Americans reporting that they are spending less than usual is higher this year.

The Columbia Mall appears empty despite the approaching holiday.

Bloomsburg and the surrounding area may be very vulnerable to economic downturn – especially this one. Located in Bloomsburg is the Magee Reiter Automotive Plant. As of 2006, 586 people were employed at this location. In a community of just over 12,000 people, this car carpeting manufacturer serves as the community’s third-largest employer. These employees’ jobs will be directly influenced by the success or failure of the American automotive industry.

The region has also been an unsuccessful location for many stores, especially in the local mall where the selection of stores seems to change constantly. With the recent closure of KB Toys and Foot Locker and the substantial vacancies that have not been filled for years, it is a wonder whether an economic downturn and decreased consumer spending will lead more companies located in the area to weigh out the costs and benefits of their locations in the Bloomsburg Area.

Some employees at the Columbia Mall see the effects of the economic downturn. The night shift manager of the Mall Services station reported, “the nights have not been very busy.” He believes the traffic in the mall may have declined since last year. Meg Lahr, an employee at Bon-Ton, noticed less traffic this Christmas season as well, though she doesn’t solely blame the economy for the lack of turnout. “It might just be our mall,” she said.

Not all stores are feeling the strain, however. Fashion Bug, located on the shopping strip by Wal-Mart in the Buckhorn Plaza, has had promising sales so far this holiday season. The manager, Rebecca Lunger, said that the company has adjusted to the change in consumer spending by changing the way their stores run to make up for it. “We pushed our winter items like sweaters forward earlier,” she used as one example.

Working in the clothing industry is an advantage at this point, she described, because “luxury and novelty items are not doing so well right now.” People’s mentalities have changed to “if you don’t need it, don’t get it,” according to Lunger. Clothing can be a winter gift and can be considered a necessity which contributes to their steady sales.

If Black Friday is any indication of the coming shopping season at the store, the employees at Fashion Bug could be confident that their revised methods are working. Even though the company lowered Black Friday projections in anticipation of fewer shoppers, the store not only surpassed these projections but also surpassed last year’s sales as well.

“We opened up at 8am and had half of our day in by noon,” Lunger said. She reported that Wal-Mart, who had used such modified tactics as discounting merchandise earlier this year, had also done well this Black Friday.

Holiday decorations welcome Christmas shoppers at the Columbia Mall in Buckhorn.

Some stores on the strip did not have as much luck. The Shoe Dept, located between Fashion Bug and Wal-Mart, both of which reported good sales, did not have such positive results. Jamie Schirra, an employee of the Shoe Dept, said, “There wasn’t much foot-traffic. We had to cut some employees.”

Alex Martinez, a senior Bloomsburg University student, did not go shopping on Black Friday this year because she had to work. Her boyfriend, Carlos, however, went to the Steamtown Mall. “He said it was busy, but no one was carrying bags” she said, indicating that he believed few people had been purchasing items.

Zack Graybill, a senior at Bloomsburg University, reported that a factory laid off hundreds of people in his hometown of Kramer, located about 45 minutes southwest of Bloomsburg. “Many of my neighbors and friends are feeling constraints because of the layoffs at the factory” he said referring to the cabinet factor, Wood-Mode, located in Kramer.

Such factors as job security could affect the spending habits of local residents this holiday season, and many local stores are prepared for this decrease in consumer spending if they are not already witnessing it. The recession is stealing Christmas for many and leaving the Grinch, like many Americans, unemployed and hurting this holiday season.

Gap

Throughout the year, millions of Americans look forward to the heart-filled holiday known as Christmas. But as wallets and pocketbooks grow thinner, so do the jobs in our local area. Lauren Smith, a Bloomsburg University student, is facing losing her job just shortly after this Christmas season.

The Gap clothing store here in the Columbia Mall has seasonal meetings with their district manager. Usually they talk about different goals and targets they hope to assess each quarter, but this season’s November ninth meeting did not bring good news. The Gap crew found out the store will be closing as of January 26, 2009.

Smith has worked at the Gap here in the Columbia Mall for a little over a year. She started as part-time holiday help last year. She knew if she did an outstanding job, and proved her worth, that she would stay on permanently after the holiday season. After over a year’s worth of hard work and dedication later, she finds out she needs to start job hunting again. Smith has truly found her niche here; she loves retail, and it shows in her work.

Surprisingly, this is Smith’s first actual retail job, and she loves it very much and finds it hard to have to say goodbye. She loves the customer interaction and loves to see them smile. She strives to make customers feel good about their sales purchases.

The geographical location is perfect for her; it’s close to the University, and it’s close to her home in Elysburg when school is not in session. She fits the bill better than other college students, because she is available year-round.

According to Smith, the management has been great. The whole GAP crew works as a family, and the management does their jobs superbly. She believes the closing of their doors could not be due to poor management. She believes that the dwindling economy and the general poor location in a mall that sees little bustle the reasons. In Smith’s words, “the mall is dead.”

Smith intends to work up until the store closes. She hopes that finding a new job will be pain free, but she foresees issues happening as well. With experience in retail she sees how people don’t do much shopping in the months of January, February and March. With businesses having slow cash flow at these times, she sees a deficit in businesses hiring for these months. Fortunately, Smith has a possible job lined up at a downtown store called The Be Green Loft. It is a store that buys clothes and sells them at discount prices. She is looking for a job in the same area of work as she is in now, because that’s how much she loves what she does.

During the big meeting, no one was really angry about this close, but more disheartened than anything. The store managers already knew beforehand, so the biggest shock was for the employees. The employees were offered continual employment at another Gap location if they desired. They could choose to be transferred to a number of different Gaps in the area. These locations included Frackville, Susquehanna Valley, Lycoming, and Wilkes-Barre. But as a local resident and a college student, Smith doesn’t want to drive that far, ranging anywhere from 30 to 50 miles one way. Other options were also offered.

The store associates could simply leave the company on good terms, with possibilities of working for the company later down the road, or a complimentary pay package. This pay package includes two weeks average pay. Smith has stated that very few hours have been available lately. “Sometimes it is even so slow that they have to send us home early on our shifts.” She says the lack of business has caused a cut in hours, and sometimes she works as few as three to eight hours per week.

Rumors have been going around that “If Gap leaves, we are leaving too!” There may be a severe domino effect if this occurs. There are other college students working at Gap as well, and hopefully they have ease finding a new job to help them through the rest of their college years as well.

In a time of loving, caring, sharing, and hoping, it will take a world of change to bring life back to this Columbia Mall. “There is no real Christmas feel here at the Columbia Mall” says Smith. “It’s just not the same kind of Christmas magic you would expect. There’s no business here.

No matter what you believe or why you celebrate one thing has always been tied into this jolly season. This one thing can cause a plethora of emotions that could be good, or that could also be bad. This one thing that has appeared every holiday season is, a present. Who knew that under all the wrapping paper and neatly tied ribbon something could hold so much power? People go to the ends of the earth, now thanks to online shopping, just to pick a gift for a friend, family member, co-worker, and anyone else they feel deserves a gift. But has gift-giving taken the main spotlight?

Flicking through the channels, Christmas commercials dominate the screen; a domination that started right before Halloween.

“Shirts for men and women only 10 dollars! And sweaters are only 15! Stop in to Old Navy this Christmas for great holiday savings,” the Old Navy commercial blared.

“Walmart has everything you need to make your child’s Christmas special. Come into Walmart, where Christmas cost less,” following right after the Old Navy commercial.

Toys for kids, clothes for all, and jewelry in every style are among the many items that may be the hot new item that everyone feels they need to have. Black Friday, a day dedicated to Christmas shopping, even has people changing their sleeping schedules just to wake up incredibly early and try to hunt down the big Christmas bargains. In Lancaster, Pa, the Rockvale Outlets opened at 12am on Black Friday just in hopes of attracting all of those shoppers that could not wait until 5am to start Christmas shopping. Do people care too much about the materialistic side of Christmas?

For Anna Castanaga, the materialistic side of Christmas no longer exists. To Castanaga, family is the greatest gift you will ever be given and should be cherished more then anything, even more then the newly popular Ipod, Blackberry, or pair of Ugg boots.

“People make too much about gift giving,” said Castanaga as she turned off the TV and walked into the kitchen. A gift should only be shared if there is real meaning behind it, not just because they feel pressured to.”

Castanaga walked to her refrigerator and pulled out some apple pies that she had baked just the day before. She explained that she gives them out to her neighbors as a way to show she is thinking of them during the holiday season. She feels this kind of gift allows each family to come together and enjoy, unlike a new cell phone that would isolate one family member away from another.

“I don’t go to all the early hours or the big sales at the mall,” said Castanaga. “To me a gift can be found all sorts of ways. It doesn’t have to be something that people can hold in there hands, but could be something like a favor.”

Offering kindness is one thing Castanaga feels should be passed around for Christmas.

“We should remember all of those who will need a little help this Christmas,” said Castanaga. “There is nothing more rewarding then giving the gift of hope and happiness.”

People need to focus on their families and count their blessings during the holiday season. There are many people out there who are less fortunate and do not have the money to purchase presents for their loved ones.

Christmas is a time to appreciate life and share the appreciation with others. Castanaga remembers the true meaning of Christmas, being able to come together with loved ones and celebrate their good fortunes. People should move passed the newest trends being advertised this and every holiday season, and remember why the Christmas season really is “the most wonderful time of the year.”

Sale signs fill BoscovsCars fill the parking lot on Black Friday at Park City Center in Lancaster, Pa.