Jingle Bells and parking lots full of cars. There are others fuming over the fact Christmas shopping is coming before Remembrance Day. We are living in interesting times to say the least. Here is a tidbit of thought. If you want a Merry Christmas better make your list. There is a litany of serious disappointments coming for a lot of us. COVID? Indirectly.

The biggest problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic but the problem is much bigger. A decade ago the supply chain saw major change. The big word was lean and mean.

Bigger profit could be derived by ordering products as needed so inventories were skeleton at best. Everything was fine what could possibly go wrong? Well COVID saw a gradual shrink in demand and with workplace illness production slowed down.

Then the unforeseen raised its ugly head. The transportation system broke down. The Suez Canal was blocked and the Panama Canal could not handle the increased volume. Add to that many offshore facilities and raw material producers did not estimate needed capacity in terms of need.

Raw materials were not available for refining, the containers were hundreds of miles from where they needed to be. For product that was available there was a shortage of labor to produce needed inventories.

Motor vehicles are not being produced to the tune of needed supply for lack of computer chips. Even entertainment is feeling the pinch. The factory that produces the master molds burned down destroying a facility that produces 80% of the material to make the master molds. Albums are sky rocketing in price some going from twenty five dollars to seventy five dollars. Some have ceased production. To create more issues some are forecasting a possible recession in China plus political climate instability due to China’s more aggressive behavior,

So it might be wise to start singing Christmas songs early and not wait for price slashed bargains. In some areas we are seeing empty shelves in major stores. We are seeing rising prices, rising inflation and product shortage. The only silver lining might be snow on the horizon. Perhaps the government held the election ahead of the tidal wave of discontent.

All this potential angst can be mitigated by planning ahead and reflecting on how we view the world. In my view an old fashioned Christmas with less frills combined with more compassion and love is just what we need.

As for Remembrance Day it’s fine to set aside a day not to celebrate but to observe in a sincere fashion what the day really means. Someone told me to properly commemorate Remembrance Day everything would have to shut down and business would lose a day. Think about that, if the stores all closed on November 11th don’t you think shoppers would go shopping on the twelfth? Of course they would.

Fred Steele