Went to the nearest large mall to get a gift for our church's angel tree (gifts for kids) to discover that the Sears store where I've shopped on and off for forty years is in the process of closing. The sign said "40 to 70 percent off, nothing held back," and not much left I might add. I've been reading about Sears' decline for years, but it was a whole new reality when I walked into those vast empty rooms. In the rest of the mall, many stores were already featuring post-Christmas discounts. Santa sat in his cordoned off area alone. Make of it what you will, my local Sears will be closed for New Years Day. Jay Leno used to say, if you wanted to be somewhere where you could be alone with your thoughtsf, go to Sears.
