Merry

I'm disturbed Susan Reimer is not "fully confident" she will have a job in 2011 ( "Consumer has a funny feeling she's being watched," Dec. 6). If the Baltimore Sun is dangling this possibility before her, please desist. I don't always agree with Ms. Reimer (and often disagree vehemently) however she represents what's good about your paper. She has the ability to uncover thoughts and feelings we're aware of but can't articulate. Her take on Christmas shopping is right on. It makes me sick that 70 percent of our gross national product is based on consumer purchasing.

We've had the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting in Bel Air and the similar Christmas Street and parade celebrations in Aberdeen and Havre de Grace, which drew their usual hardy crowds seeking early December doses of holiday cheer. Festivals of trees, holiday bazaars, athletic events with Christmas themes, greens sales and open houses have been so numerous in Harford County that it would be all but impossible for a single person to attend them all. Perryville and Port Deposit similarly have seen their traditional crowds for a slew of holiday events.

The jaunty lyrics of the childhood song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" would lead one to believe that the action of moving a boat through water is squarely in the fun category. But after just one practice, I understand that competitive rowing is more in the workout category. And we all know how dang merry it is to work out. My husband asked me if I'd like to join his company's dragon boat team because they needed another female paddler. I've seen dragon boats in action before — long, graceful, flat-bottomed vessels cutting smoothly through the water with 10 elegantly synchronized athletes on each side, someone steering in the back and a drummer up front to beat out the pace.

New York City SantaCon 2012 It's that time of year to find your best Santa outfit and head to New York City to frolic, drink and be merry with thousands of other Santa look-alikes. The annual event, which originated in San Francisco in 1994, begins early and ends late, and will attract over 20,000 Santas to numerous bars and pubs throughout the city. Attendees should bring cash and canned food, as this holiday drinkfest raises money for Toys for Tots and also donates to New York City food banks.

On January 18, 2004; MERRY PATRICIA SIEMEN. She is survived by her son and daughter Martin Siemen and Anne Rutherford and four grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held February 7, 2 PM at 534 Heavytree Hill, Severna Park. Send donations in her memory to Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403.

Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., a Joppa-based clothing-store chain, reported yesterday that its first-quarter earnings dropped 18.5 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago, as a weak economy and back-to-basics fashion trends ate into sales.Budd Bugatch, institutional research director at Ferris, Baker Watts in Baltimore, said Merry-Go-Round's earnings-per-share of 13 cents were "better than what we were looking for," even though they were down from 17 cents last year. Mr. Bugatch said he had been projecting 10 cents a share for the quarter that ended May 2.The company's sales increased 9 percent, to $171.

One thing we celebrate this Christmas is that more people are joining with us, openly, than have in any Christmas in memory. This was true as well for Hanukkah. Freedom to think and pray and celebrate has penetrated to previously forbidden corners of the world.This can be chaotic. It is not immediately rewarding in a material sense. But it has let people pray, put up Christmas lights, or burn Hanukkah candles, who previously dared not.Christmas speaks to family life. In country after country, governments have withdrawn their insufferable control of that.

Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since January, will have to wait until October to see the results of its back-to-school sales before it can formulate a reorganization plan, company officials said yesterday."

:TC JOPPA -- Merry-Go-Round's managers and some shareholders found unusual solace yesterday in a 17 percent decline in store-for-store sales so far this month, saying the large fashion retailer is showing subtle signs of recovery.Double-digit sales drops normally aren't something merchants brag about. But for Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., the June figures disclosed yesterday are the best monthly results this year and, executives say, a sign of progress at the struggling chain.Last month, sales at Merry-Go-Round stores open for at least a year dropped by 24 percent compared with the previous year; in April they plunged by 35 percent.

Last week Merry-Go-Round Inc.'s board of directors interviewed four to six retail executives and turnaround managers as candidates for chief executive officer of the 1,200-store chain, according to people close to the company.Those interviewed included at least one partner in Meridian Ventures, a turnaround firm of three executives who recently completed high-profile assignments helping department store giant R.H. Macy & Co. recover from a bankruptcy filing, sources said.xTC Meridian's partners are Thomas C. Shull, former executive vice president at Macy; James Kenney, former senior vice president of corporate planning; and Gene Rohrer, who was also a senior vice president of corporate planning for Macy.

Columnist Jean Marbella implies that men are treated differently in sex scandals because they often go on to have successful careers after an extramarital affair is exposed, while women rarely do ("In all these sex scandals, see a double standard," Nov. 18). I disagree. Let's look at the issue logically. Person A is famous and can reasonably be expected to be in demand for whatever reason they are famous for. Person B is not famous. Person A has an affair with Person B. After the affair is exposed, Person A continues to be in demand for whatever they were known for before the affair.

Veterans are invited to a Veterans Day Appreciation ceremony at Merry Meadows Recreation Farm in Freeland on Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. Navy veteran Clyde Morris, whose family owns Merry Meadows, wants to recognize the men and women of the Armed Forces. He also invites neighbors and the public to attend the open house event. Merry Meadows is located at 1523 Freeland Road, Freeland. No pets or alcoholic beverages permitted. For more details, call 410-329-6636.

Holiday parties are just a fancy cover, and traditional family dinners are simply an excuse. The truth is, all we want to do at this time of year is … eat. Winter days are shorter and colder, and the sunlight is weak. So is our will, and nothing fills that hole in the psyche like mom's meatloaf and scalloped potatoes. Or a slab of lasagna the size of a brick. Or a serving of spaghetti that would fill a garbage can lid. Carbs and home cookin' are feel-good foods. They either trigger the release of the feel-good hormone serotonin in the brain or they can bring back memories of happier times, when life was less complicated or sad. That's one explanation anyway.

All the presents have been opened; wrapping paper is strewn all over the house. The dog is wearing a large shiny bow, courtesy of the kids; while the cat has one end of a piece of curling ribbon hanging out of her mouth and the other end hanging out her … elsewhere. The joyful voices of happy children emanate from the next room. They're arguing over whose turn it is to play the new video game or hollering, "Quit it! Give me back my new (fill in the blank) or I'm gonna tell!" Good times.

All I want for Christmas is a black-and-white "Glee" holiday special .. .and a purple Christmas tree.  This year, Gleeks were treated to a show within a show. The glee kids, because of some cancellation of a yuletide log special on a local channel, are asked to delight the citizens of Lima with some Christmas carols. Mercedes kicks off the episode with "All I Want for Christmas is You," which, I'll admit, is my favorite Christmas song. Sorry, Nat King Cole, no offense to your chestnuts or anything, but I can't help but smile and rock around the Christmas tree to Mariah Carey.

I've been thinking about the presents I'll be giving - and getting, I hope - during the holiday season. I have inexpensive expectations, so folks needn't worry about spending a fortune on me. But if they did have fortunes to spend, I think I'd like to receive an immense rose garden, one as extravagant as Josephine's rose garden was at the Chateau Malmaison. When Empress Josephine and Emperor Napoleon ruled France during the early 1800s, Josephine lived at the Malmaison, a three-story chateau situated upon 4,500 acres on the outskirts of Paris.

Merry-Go-Round Enterprises reported earnings and sales yesterday, and the numbers were horrendous enough to bring founder Boogie Weinglass down from his Colorado mountaintop on a rescue mission.The Joppa-based clothing store chain posted a loss of $2.5 million, or 5 cents a share, for its second quarter that ended July 31. That compares with earnings of $6.4 million, or 12 cents a share, for the second quarter last year.Even more disturbing, Merry-Go-Round got off to a miserable start for the critical third quarter, as comparable-store sales for August plunged 16 percent.

The filing for bankruptcy court protection by Merry-Go-Round Enterprises should provide welcome relief for the Joppa-based clothing chain, and a second chance for its charismatic founder to turn around the financially foundering national retailer.Retailer woes are no novelty in this economic climate, as the cases of Sears Roebuck, Macy's and many others attest. But Maryland and Harford County have much riding on the outcome of this bankruptcy respite and the new direction charted by Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass, the Baltimore native forced out of semi-retirement to reassume command of the former darling of Wall Street.