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This is worse than when ABC ME opted to forfeit the licencing contract with Marvel and cancelled its animated shows like Spectacular Spiderman due to Disney owning the rights to all Marvel IP.
Kirsten Drysdale and Zoe Norton Lodge examine the issue of market segmentation by gender and find we've all got an equal opportunity to pay more.
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The Christmas Shoes
It was only five days before Christmas.
The spirit of the season hadn't yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our
Houston area Target Shopping Center.
Inside the store, it was worse.
Shopping carts and last minute shoppers
jammed the aisles. Why did I come today? I wondered.
My feet ached almost as much as my head.
My list contained names of several people who
claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings
would be hurt if I didn't buy them anything. Buying for
someone who had everything and deploring the high
cost of items, I considered gift-buying anything
but fun. Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last
minute items and proceeded to the longcheckout lines.
I picked the shortest but it looked as if it would mean a
t least a 20 minute wait. In front of me were two small children -
a boy of about 10 and a younger girl about 5.
The boy wore a ragged coat. Enormously large,
tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his
much too short jeans. He clutched several crumpled dollar
bills in his grimy hands.
The girl's clothing resembled her brother's.
Her head was a matted mass of curly hair.
Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face.
She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house slippers
. As the Christmas music sounded in the store's stereo
system, the girl hummed along off-key but happily.
When we finally approached thecheckout register, the girl
carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them
as though they were a treasure. The clerk rang up the bill.
"That will be $6.09," she said.
The boy laid his crumpled dollars atop the stand while he
searched his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12.
"I guess we will have to put them back, " he bravely said
. "We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow."
With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. "
But Jesus would have loved these shoes, " she cried.
"Well, we'll go home and work some more. Don't cry.
We'll come back," he said.
Quickly, I handed $3.00 to the cashier. These children had
waited in line for a long time.
And, after all, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms
came around me and a small voice said, "Thank you Sir."
"What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the
shoes?" I asked. The small boy answered, "
Our mommy is sick and going to heaven.
Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus
." The girl spoke,
"My Sunday school teacher said the streets in
heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes
Won't mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match
these shoes?"
My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear-streaked face "Yes"
I answered, "I am sure she
will." Silently I thanked God for using these children to
remind me of the true spirit of giving. Christmas is not
about the amount of money paid, nor the amount of gifts
purchased, nor trying to impress friends
and relatives. Christmas is about the love in your heart to share
with those as Jesus Christ has shared with each of us.
Christmas is about the Birth of Jesus whom God sent to show
the world how much he really loves us. Please show this love as
we think of the upcoming season.
-Author Unknown