ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 23, 1996 TAG: 9612230096
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
'Twas three days before Christmas and all through Valley View Mall, a few last-minute shoppers were roaming its halls.
It was early - 9 a.m. - too early for some. For these folks it was bliss, the ideal time to come.
No pushing, long lines or holiday clatter. Just time for browsing. No Santa? No matter.
Dottie Catron of Roanoke County stopped in before church, to buy a gift for her daughter and a coffee maker that perks.
"We got work done on her house," Catron said, then remarked worriedly, "I'm afraid there'll be nothing for her under the tree."
Wanda Nichols and husband Harry had a gift to take back. Better to return now than when late-day shoppers attack.
"I want to shop early, beat the crowd, get it over with," Nichols said. She wanted Monday and Tuesday for cooking and cleaning instead.
Hecht's saleswoman Helen Brizendine joked of the shopping habits of men, last-minute habits she sees every Christmas, over and over again.
"'She's about this wide and this tall. I don't know her size'," to her the men say. More often than not, the gifts are returned anyway.
Ah afternoon, when shoppers brave the last-minute press. Tanglewood Mall was bustling by 2, full of shoppers braving this last-minute mess.
Michael Martin shuttled people to and from parking lots jammed tight, in a rented golf cart with a flashing orange light.
In the mall, Josh England said he slacked off this year, didn't feel like shopping until Christmas drew near.
But the lad, 19, got an earlier start this year than last, when he waited until Christmas Eve to tackle the task.
"I'm getting better at it," he said, proudly. But he'd emptied his pockets, spent all his money.
At Wal-Mart, where the air smelled of baked goods and chicken crisply fried, was a bona fide Scrooge, a mean sort of guy.
"I work seven days a week. I don't have time to do shopping," the Gretna man grumbled. "And I'm shopping for me, not anybody else," he mumbled.
But the Christmas spirit was alive in Pat Nichols of Vinton, age 41. For Nichols and her three children, giving to others this year would be "fun."
She had in her cart some socks, gloves and a nightgown, gifts for "Sarah" who lives in an adult home on the Northwest side of town.
Nichols' wish for Christmas this year is different than most, has nothing to do with the expensive things of which some folks love to boast.
She said, "I wish for peaceful laughter, love and joy in my heart."
Then she added, through tears, "Don't you think it's a good place to start?"
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Eric Brady. Shoppers - down to the wire - keepby CNBTanglewood Mall busy Sunday. The malls are helping out with longer
hours. color.