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You know it's the Christmas season when you approach the entrance to your favorite store and hear the familiar incessant ringing of THE BELL!
We all know the Salvation Army is known for bell ringing...non-stop, deafening bell ringing. There have been times I was so teeth-gratingly annoyed by the sound in the short walk from my car to the store's entrance, I gladly dropped some money into the bucket just to get the ringing to stop. (Sorry, but it's true...)
Because of the toll it takes on the wrist (and one's sanity), bell-ringing shifts are usually short - an hour or two - before another volunteer takes over. This especially holds true in Michigan where the bell ringer is likely frozen solid after an hour or two. A frozen solid bell ringer is a useless bell ringer.
A shift change is quite a remarkable feat (in my opinion). Somehow, they are able to pass the bell to from one ringer to the next without missing a single "ding-a-ling-a-ling." Either they are professional bell ringers or they've been practicing...much like relay runners. Such skill and coordinated agility must take hours and hours of practice. Seriously.
Yup, there's nothing quite like the Christmas season.
The spirit of Christmas is about giving...but my question is: Do the ringers really need to deafen everyone who crosses their path??
Happy Holidays everyone!
Too funny. A funny story...a few years ago when I was in college we had a mixer that was holiday themed. My date and I dressed up like the Salvation Army people with the bell and a red bucket. Boy people would put money in our buckets just to make us be quiet. It was fabulous and we made like fifty bucks!! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I love Ashley's story! The bell ringers drive me crazy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL! And yet I always feel guilty when I don't put money in their buckets! Oh, the guilt of the ringing...
ReplyDeleteHa. Since I was 5 I have called them "Bellies." They are SO annoying! And if you don't put money in they yell "Merry Christmas Ma'am, and keep the little one warm." It doesn't even make me feel guilty I'm SO ANNOYED!
ReplyDeleteI hate when you donate money on your way into the store, then they do the shift change so on your way out the new guys gives you a dirty look like you don't care about the needy because you're not putting any money in.
ReplyDeleteUm, this is hilarious...love it!
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