White Christmas

In the bathroom at the ad agency where I’ve been working recently, in addition to the sink, there is an automatic hand sanitizer dispenser, you know the kind—wash your hands without soap and water, no need to dry them either, just rub them together until the weird alcoholic substance evaporates, leaving your hands feeling clean and oddly clammy. The dispenser is located right next to the light switch and is motion activated. So whenever you turn on the light, you inadvertently squirt hand sanitizer all over your hands. The first few times it happened to me I thought it was my fault, that I had done something foolish, but by the third or fourth time I understood that it was a problem as simple as a bad design.

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When a community is really a family

It seems like you can’t read a newspaper, watch the news on television, or listen to the radio without being reminded that we are in a recession. We’re all tightening our belts in order to get through these tough financial times. I think everyone agrees economic hardship is difficult at any time, but especially during the holidays. The added stress of holiday preparation, gift buying, plus professional and personal obligations increases the madness that envelops our lives at this time of year. The combination can make anyone a little crazy and self-absorbed. I’m sure that in many towns, that’s exactly what is taking place: people are working so hard to get everything done that they only see what’s directly in front of them.

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