Just a minute, people.

 I never threatened anybody and had no intentions of doing so. (Perhaps 
the smilies I included in my message didn''t show up on everyone's mail 
reader.) I simply implied that I would never consider killing myself.  
And as for the Christmas blues,  it ain't about the shopping.  I shop 
and buy gifts for my friends and family. What irritates me are the 
people that think it's more important to get that last cabbage patch 
doll for their spoiled kid or to snag that perfect parking spot than it 
is to be courteous to their fellow man with a simple smile and a hello, 
thank-you or please or to give another driver the right-of-way at an 
intersection.  I have nothing against Christmas-- I love Christmas.  
It's the ''dog-eat-dog'' attitude that people adopt during this time 
that really gets under my skin.

 A professor I once had summed it up well with an old adage:

''It's not the ups and downs in life that get to you. It's the little 
jerks.''

-- Sprocket