| Show By LESLIE LIEBER This Week's Roving Editor Rewarding people wlio've given you good serviec all year was a niee Christman idea— onee Rut it’s grown into a monster Christmas is traditionally the time of year when men of good will are supposed to overflow with the milk or at least the eggnog of human kindness Well that’s just fine but this year count me out I’m angry — darned angry I’m fed up with the unabashed commercialism that has gradually made "Season’s Greetings” a synonym for season’s greed In my opinion Americans have been too supine and tolerant of a sanctimonious racket I call Christmas Blackmail which has converted this holiday into a travesty of what it was meant to be into Christmas Blackmail has turned donor draws the no longer up his hypocrisy Today own gift list: the people who expect gifts send him gift-givin- g 1 Christmas a bill! And implicit in the cards which arrive from suddenly solicitous butchers garbage collectors elevator operators etc is the veiled threat that should you fail to "come through” your service may fail when you need it the most I encountered Christmas Blackmail a couple of years ago one December evening while waiting for my car to be brought down in a midtown garage Conspicuously displayed on the wall of the garage was a large blackboard glistening with colored electric lights wreathed with holly and radiating a friendly message in chalk: take-a-hi- "Merry Xmas Jo All Our Patrons — From The Staff” Underneath this nice sentiment was a list of the garage’s customers Opposite each name the staff s the amount of had posted in large clear tossed the Christmas had into each patron money dollar-sign- kitty ' I could hardly believe my eyes Here cloaked as a Christmas greeting was a scoreboard which afforded all one’s friends and business associates the glorious and opportunity to block skinflint who’s on the the biggest see — t onHmviJ oa dm! page Unique? No I’m told "MEMBER OF THE FAMILY?” Feed him the finest him plenty of love care and Kal Kan His good health is worth Give a few pennies more PREMIUM QUALITY fAL (AH') DOO AND CAT FOOD “ Diamonds are a pet’s best friend” WTIIMt IMS Mi 22 THIS WIK RAW POOOt Dkr S IV43 |
