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Show New Utah Pleasant Grove ReviewLindon Edition New Utah - Thursday. December 5. 2002 - Page 2 Opinion Save stress - shop at home There are numerous rea sons to stay away from large shopping areas any holiday season - parking problems, having to fight crowds, even dealing with overworked clerks whose grumpiness can put a damper on anyone's cheery outlook. Reasons to avoid sometimes otherwise appealing shopping areas have remained the same. However, there are more and more reasons than ever before why shopping close to home can be a better choice. As north Utah County has grown in population, so have the possibilities for a pleasurable pleasur-able shopping experience. It may not yet have entirely caught up with the shift in population, but it's moving the right direction. We have choices close to us that we have never had before. We must have been doing something right already, because by next year at this time, we will have even more selection. Businesses tend to locate where people are willing will-ing to spend their money. If we want an even wider range of choices, our best bet is to stay close to home when we make purchases. One of the area's largest draws is its people. It seems that whether you go to a store or a public facility, there will be at least one other person you know there. That very networking of cheerful greetings greet-ings and sincere queries about our families goes a long way toward making holiday shopping shop-ping a pleasant experience. Take a walk along one of our communities' main streets. You will have to button but-ton your jacket. Unlike the superheated atmosphere of a mall, you are exposed to the elements. But you are also exposed to the crisp, invigorating invigorat-ing air, perhaps with some snow to even better set the mood. Most importantly, though, you will walk with a lighter step because you are happy. Your stress level is lower, and you are also helping friends, ' neighbors, and your community communi-ty with your sales taxes. Those Christmas gifts can give in many ways we don't often stop to think about. Keeping it all in perspective Now that Thanksgiving is over it's full steam ahead to Christmas. Homes and streets throughout Pleasant Grove are coming alive with lights and Christmas decor. This is a fun and exciting time of year, not because of what we may receive, but because so many participate in the celebration of Christmas. However, with all the festivities comes the almost never-ending demand on our time during the next few weeks for holiday related activities. As I write this column, I am listening to my 12-year old son practice his cello for the church orchestra rehearsal of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." At the same time, my 9-year-old daughter is also away with her Aunt Lisa and Cousin Jessica practicing with the Pleasant Grove Orchestra for the orchestra's orches-tra's own performance of Handel's "Messiah" on Dec. 15. I was also at choir practice earlier ear-lier in the day, and soon we will be attending numerous family related relat-ed performances, recitals and get-togethers. get-togethers. There is shopping to be done, company and church Christmas Christ-mas parties to attend, trips to Thanksgiving Point or Temple Square to see the lights, Christmas Christ-mas symphony band and orchestra orches-tra performances at Pleasant Grove Junior High, and of course, more shopping. At the same time, all the non-Christmas non-Christmas activities are still IT" going on as well. The kids are finishing fin-ishing their December school assignments, my oldest son plays on the PG High School basketball team, and then there's that nagging nag-ging question of what to get grandma for Christmas. . Taking it all in, it's turning up to be one busy month. With so many activities on the docket this month, one needs to find a way to keep track of all these things. Calendars are fine, but during December, I'm always running out of space as I write multiple activities for the same day in that little daily square. Instead, I think I'll create a long, paper chain, just like the chains we used to make as kids to count down the days to Christmas. Christ-mas. On each link I'll write the activity activ-ity for the specific day. Each time an activity comes around, I'll snip the link and there will be one less thing to remember. Soon enough, the only thing I'll have to remember remem-ber is Christmas day itself. Now to start wrapping those presents and put them under the tree. Wait a minute. Where did the tree go? Did we get a tree yet? Well, there's one more link on the chain. Getting to the bottom of PJ bottoms I imagine that one of the popu lar gifts for Christmas this year will be pajama bottoms. A few years ago most people would feel this was a very strange gift. I know I would have. Now it is the rage of the sage. In September I took my 11-year-old granddaughter shopping for her birthday. She said she wanted to go shopping for her gift rather than have me just give her the money, so we went shopping. She knew right where she wanted to go and she carefully went through the things in the pre-teen department. I thought she would purchase a pair of trousers and a cute top, and she did look at quite a few of those things and even tried some on. . j. She came out of the fitting room to show me how she looked in one of the outfits and then she casually casual-ly walked over to a rack that was packed with pajama bottoms in all different colors, prints, sizes and varieties. She asked me what I thought about some she brought over to show me and I told her they were cute but wondered why she would want to buy them. The ones she tried on all looked nice and finally she narrowed the choices down to about three, and then we debated which one of these looked the best onherK.l she eventually chose her S a That is when I asked,?;- planned to wear on the t these pajama bottoms si,! me a .how-dumb -art-t ho? fl sighed and told me you T oldT-shirtyouhavel ma bottoms. I asked if she would like a , : T-shirt to wear with the newl ma bottoms but she said have some at home." ' ' l am not sure how W tW . ' wdl last, but you see people ly young ones, wearing J bottoms everywhere. They sh them, go out to eat in them P the car in them and relaxing I wonder if any of them ac J sleep in them. i .in it' 'c ji"' .;m n IV of vis :tii it tv Shopping strategies for the holidays '-I'll! ill I face all shopping expeditions with equal dread, whether I need groceries, clothes or gifts. I don't know how I got this way. All I know is that I'd rather watch The Wiggles while getting my teeth drilled than shop. So imagine the stunned looks my jogging buddies gave me when I explained that I couldn't run with them on Friday morning after Thanksgiving because I was going to Target to take advantage of a great deal on a Game Cube. Just as the anticipation of getting get-ting a shot is worse than the actual actu-al event, so was the shopping. Although my husband and I had to park in the nethermost region of the parking lot, we were at least on Target property. There were latecomers who seemingly left their cars on the 1-15 off-ramp and walked. We were in good company as we waited in the dark and cold for the store to open. We were instructed by Target's elite, special agents on basic stampede etiquette and were given the strategic positioning position-ing of select sale items in the store. The doors opened at precisely 7 a.m. At 7:08 a.m., "Mission Game Cube" had been accomplished. We walked smugly back to our car while trying to force expressions of compassion at those who overslept over-slept or got stuck in the line at Wal-Mart, whose sale had begun an hour earlier. I'd like to think that I'm not alone in my aversion to shopping. If I were rich, I'd do all my shopping shop-ping online or I'd hire a personal assistant to do it all for me. Since that's not an option (this year anyway), any-way), I decided to do an Internet search of T.inrln- i 1 w umKe SU wasn't missing any unique t opportunities close to home. If I ever become close fa J with a goat enthusiast, I'll be ahh. 0 to get a registered Nigerian Divy goat right here in Lindon frJ Blue Stone Goat Ranch. If haSTh, to surprise a hunter with a trip! o. need only go to Bucks and Rnl? ovc Don't attack leaders for things they could not prevent on Main Street to arrange for guided deer, elk, antelope moose nunt. For those loved ones who an lil;1 scrapbook fanatics, I can get thf '" brand new Wubie Wedgie and Wm Bunny from Mountains of Memo the ries in the South Towne plaza oi In State Street. !,ler. And for my current friendly who prefer not to do an albun page of their last moose hunt a J goau minting, gin certincates an always appreciated. Lindon offer! plenty of restaurants and retailjng: ers to choose from. And there arj'' only 16 shopping days left. i:i a Ne ird: Jia Tl Sometimes, history repeats itself. On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes attacked the United States Naval Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This "dastardly act," as President Presi-dent Franklin Roosevelt called it, launched the United States into World War II and changed the face of the world. On September 11, 2001, American Ameri-can airliners, hijacked by terrorists, terror-ists, crashed into the twin towers. This act launched the current War on Terrorism and in many ways changed the face of our current cur-rent world. In both cases, writers have examined the mistakes and assumptions that led to the attacks. Some have even charged that Roosevelt knew about the attack at Pearl Harbor before it happened. They cite broken codes, "secret" correspondence and other information to make their argument. argu-ment. The argument continues that Roosevelt allowed the attack to happen because he knew the American people would rally around the military and the United Unit-ed States would be fully involved in World War II. Now, some are examining whether President Bush knew the terrorist attack was coming. They are claiming that the information was there, but Bush ignored it, willing to take the risk because it would help his presidency if an attack happened. The authors who take this point of view are trying to show that the government is corrupt and that our leaders are not perfect. per-fect. This negative view of our leadership is in fact detrimental to the free functioning democracy we live in. Don't get me wrong here I believe we ought to have the right to examine, to criticize and to argue with what our governmen im: is doing. I think that's a health) part of a functioning democracy. , Th My problem is the criticisu that is based on wild imagininj and partisan politics that rea"ljg does more harm than good. Did Roosevelt in 1941 or Buslja( in 2001 know that the attack were going to happen before the; did? Both denied they did. : In neither case would the ben&Tr fit to a political party or thfc nation outweigh the consequence Jf of people dying. tyiit; I have to believe that neitheU. president had advance knowledge Cf of these events. J They probably did have alC sorts of information, but sorting out beforehand the important information is an impossibility. (T Today, as we continue to fij the war on terror and remeiMO the anniversary of Pearl Hark let's keep our criticism ofthe govp? ernment to healthy debate ovei policy and priorities, not focus o attacking the leaders for evenjus, that they could not have fores" Reader's Forum Thanks for LFW support Editor: We would like to give our thanks for the contribution of so many to Lehi Family Week 2002: the mayor and members of the Lehi City Council, members of the Lehi Community Council, the Coalition for Utah Families, the schools, PTSA's, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mount Timpanogos Baptist Church, the Utah Adoption Council, Coun-cil, the Lehi Arts Council, the Lehi Family Literacy Center, the Lehi Police and Fire Department, the Lehi Free Press (New Utah), the Civic Improvement Association, the Lehi High School Booster Club, the Lehi Legacy Center, the Lehi High School Student Council and Peer Leadership Tea, Miss Lehi and her court, the Lehi High School Band, the Lehi Community Band, Bowen Revill, the Lehi Junior High School Choir, the local Scouts, the Lehi High School Encore Show Choir and the choirs from Sego Lily Elementary School, Eagle Crest Elementary Schools, Lehi Elementary School and Cedar Valley Elementary School and Christopher Kerr. We would also like to thank Johnny Barnes, Heather Miller, Susan Wilson, Karen Daniels, Peter Brooks, Linda Hunter Adams, Carla Sue Hanson, Marie Nuccitelli, Kevin Kuhni, John and Kim Bytheway, Dr. Lynn Scoresby, Lt. Governor Olene Walker, Susan Dayton, JoAnn Hibbert Hamilton, Dr. Alexander B. Morrison, Richard and Linda Eyre, Mike Cottam, Abbie Vianes, Jean Buon-forte, Buon-forte, Paula and Dr. Gilbert Fellingham, Tammy Swigert, Judy Schiffman, Big O Tire, the Dinosaur Museum and the Fox Family Farms Animal Park-Thanksgiving Park-Thanksgiving Point, the Hutchings Museum, the Amen . Fork Towne unem, , Army National Lmaru, ga Family un Haws Floral, Lehi Roller JL- and Swift Printing. J . n ,7mir SUP-1 Thanli you an iux j-- in honoring and strengtM i rVUie IS BUI,' 1 families in L-eru. - community enorr,. -Rick and Linda Turner, New Utah American Fork Citizen, Pleasant Grove Review, Lehi Free Press, Lindon New Utah, Lone Peak New Utah 59 W. 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