I was managing a bank branch in Bellingham for a nice regional bank that is "no more". Literally 8 feet from my desk, this was a branch inside a grocery store, stood a bell ringer. Imagine a bell ringing for 10 hours a day, for almost a month. I lived for the times when the bell stopped ringing as the ringer talked with someone, and then it started again, and my shoulders tensed up.

My second year there I called Salvation Army. I told them of my situation, and of my support for Salvation Army every year, but I just couldn't handle another month. They came in, looked at the situation, and they gave the ringer a silent bell. I dropped a $20 in the pot right then.

I love the basic idea of the holidays, but I could do without the cacophony of sounds associated with them.

I'd make a good Scrooge.