WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

I never get tired of James Coburn's line in the movie HUDSON HAWK, where he tells Bruce Willis' character, "...and to quote the late great Karen Carpenter, "We've Only Just Begun." People I am sure get tired of me saying it, but there is no line more apropo than that when talking about O-N-D. It's that three-letter acronym that us in the business lovingly refer to as "The Silly Season."

Now, to be sure, this is the time we retailers live for - the last quarter of the year, where the last 9 months of sales are equally made during these last three and then some. What with impending holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's - the holy trinity of entertaining (or more to the point, drinking) are all lined up for our pretty little marketing campaigns and bulked-up inventories.

It is during this peak time that I personally get my best workout of the year, because I move more boxes than UPS. I can't complain - I will save that for when I am not doing anything around here - and in this day and age, with the economy tanking the way it is and the government not really giving a crap one way or the other (NOTE TO ALL: End incumbency - vote for the New Guy (or Gal)!!!) - doing volume business is like a blessing from the gods.

But a lot of people have no idea what kind of controlled chaos goes on behind the scenes. It's pandemonium really, though if it weren't for our crack staff (or our staff on crack), we'd really be in the shiitake mushrooms. The old adage rings true around here - "stack 'em high and watch 'em fly!" I'll show you what I mean along the way to the New Year, with a few choice behind-the-scenes pix of our staff in action! At the very least, it will be good for a few laughs.

Stay tuned!