Recently, I was on about being a Christmas Grinch and about how this time I was going to be way more into the spirit of the season.
Now, I wrote that column a couple of weeks before the other fat bloke – the jolly one – came down the chimney or snuck in via the verandah to deliver happiness and seasonal cheer. What I wrote with all good intentions has now got a massive disclaimer on it.
With good intentions, I woke up on Christmas Day full of cheer and toddled off with George the dog, my one and only true friend apart from Old Mate, for our morning walk, which is about 8-10km.
Sometimes on the way back, we have a coffee with the ‘table of knowledge’: a fine group with unlimited wisdom and humour.
I wasn’t sure any of the coffee shops would be open on December 25 but I took my credit card – just in case.
After many “merry Christmas” greetings along the way, and me going out of my way to be cheerful, we rounded the corner at the end of our walk and one shop was open. Yahoo!
Still being cheerful, I lined up as it was quite busy. I was finally greeted by a young lady – not with “merry Christmas” but her pointing at a phone app, asking me whether or not I had ordered.
Slightly confused and waving my credit card around, I was basically told that “today only, you can’t pay at the register: you have to order online with your phone”.
Of course, I didn’t have my phone. So, to steal a line out of Seinfeld: “No soup for you.” Well, coffee anyway.
I left, devastated initially. But as I processed it, I realised that this is the way of the world these days: no compromise and, basically, no care. But hey, it was just a cup of coffee and not the end of the world.
So, there went my Christmas spirit, straight out the door. But later in the day, I was helping with the lunchtime patrol at Kings Beach and was overwhelmed by the amount of people that wanted to give us food and plenty of goodwill for volunteering on Christmas Day while they were enjoying the festive spirit.
So, I have changed my mantra slightly and will leave you with a quote from Victor Borge: “Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.”
Ashley Robinson is chairman of the Sunshine Coast Falcons and Sunshine Coast Thunder Netball, and a lifetime Sunshine Coast resident.
