I was in one of those "big box" stores over the weekend - and Santa was strolling the aisles wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I told my wife, "It was fun to see Santa. I was just a little surprised to see him carrying pepper spray on his belt."

OK - I made that part up. But the thought never would have occurred to me, except for the crazy Black Friday headlines. People getting pushed, punched, sprayed, hospitalized, even shot - all in the frenzy to get some coveted item cheap.

We'll have Pilgrims on our table on Thanksgiving. Nice ceramic Pilgrims. They won't eat.

We'll also have pilgrims at our table. Living, breathing pilgrims. And, man, will they eat!

We're all pilgrims, whether we know it or not. No, not the kind that wear black hats, white bonnets or big buckles. But the kind William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth colony, wrote about.

As the intrepid Mayflower travelers were preparing to leave England and head into the unknown, Bradford wrote about what was in their hearts. "They knew they were pilgrims, and looked not so much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits."

In the midst of managing a war and a wild economy, the President of the United States will again this Thanksgiving step up to one of the most decisive responsibilities of his office. He will pardon a turkey. Actually, two turkeys. This is serious business. There's actually a backup turkey - just in case Turkey #1 isn't able to serve as - what one writer called - the ungobbled gobbler.

I can't remember the names of all seven of Snow White's dwarfs. I don't feel bad about that. But I do remember one. Grumpy. I've heard that the Grumpy shirt is one of Disney's big sellers.

I might know why. Grumpy's the mood of a whole lot of Americans these days.

Take the one-year-to-go state of the Presidential race. It doesn't matter if a politician is a Democrat or a Republican - most people are not very excited about anybody. We've got one group who wants us to stop spending money. Then there are some who want people to stop making money. Some don't like what the President's doing. Some don't like what Congress is doing. Many are not all that impressed with any candidate so far.

A few days ago, Penn State was just one college of many with a powerful football program. This past week, it's suddenly become the epicenter of a whole lot of outrage.

There are the screaming students, angry that Joe Paterno, their iconic coach - the "winningest" college coach ever - had been summarily fired. Then there are the parents, politicians and pundits who are enraged - as they should be - at young lives ruined by sexual abuse. Allegedly by an assistant coach who used a locker room as a place to horribly exploit young boys.

I was just doing the math. At one point in time, we had one grandchild. I couldn't believe my wife was old enough to be a grandmother! But then - within a matter of years, that one has become eight grandchildren!

But that's nothin'. In that same period of time, a billion more people have joined us on this planet. And this week, our "global village" just changed the population sign from six billion to seven billion.

When you're a kid, you're wet cement. Impressions get written so easily - and so deeply. Then they harden into the beliefs - or unbeliefs - of that kid-become-adult. Apparently, Steve Jobs was no exception.

Apple's communications genius/revolutionary, has been described as "intriguing, yet inscrutable." But as he battled cancer, he opened some windows into his mind and soul to the author writing his life story. According to the new biography that bears his name, Steve Jobs studied Zen Buddhism for years. A recent article in USA Today said, "He never went back to church after he saw a photo of starving children on the cover of Life and asked his Sunday school pastor if God knew what would happen to them. He was 13 at the time."

Shades of the '60s. Lots of angry, discontented young people, occupying public places, trying to call attention to their cause. I think we've seen this before.

The '60s demonstrations were about a war, and they turned more violent. The 2011 crowds are occupying high-profile public areas - like Wall Street, for example - around the world. And with a different cause. They claim they're protesting about jobs, corporate greed, concentrated wealth and economic injustice. Only time will tell whether this will be a game-changer or a loud blip on the screen.

So I felt a little rejected when they chose teams for softball. Yup. Last one chosen. Poor me. And how about the time when I was the only one on the hayride without a date.

I feel a little ashamed of some of those "poor me" flashbacks when I read about those girls in India. Hundreds of them whose actual names mean "unwanted" in Hindi. Every day of their lives they've answered to the name "unwanted." Some of them got the name simply because they were a disappointment when they were born. Whatever the reason, "unwanted" is a horrible way to be branded for life.

The image of a burning candle on an iPad. That's the kind of memorial some folks have come with to honor Steve Jobs after his death this week. How appropriate. He was the inventive genius and innovator marketer who brought the communications revolution from the "geekosphere" to something you could hold in your hand.

Bill Gates has described Steve Jobs' impact as "profound." News anchors are quick to say he "changed the world." Yes, he did. He was always a newsmaker when he walked on the Apple stage to introduce technology's "what's next?".

But now with Steve Jobs' passing, I find myself asking "what's next?" on a much deeper level. What's next on the other side of our last heartbeat, when the obituaries and tributes are for us?