Leaving on a Jetplane

This is a empty restaurant at JFK. I had a final lunch here before boarding for Dulles and then South Africa. As I sat down, I had some time to review the few days that I had in the US. A few things struck me:

• I did not know that so many Xmas songs exist. Even as I sit at this desk, I am listening to Xmas songs. Since I arrived, this is the only music that I heard. Is this common? Will they keep on playing these songs till the 25th? Believe me, it will drive me crazy.

• The US was built on steel: Steel bridges, steel structures, - but the steel is busy rusting. I have seen rust everywhere. The airports and the hotels that I visited all just felt so tired. (It is in stark contrast with places like Dubai and Singapore that I recently visited).
• The economy is down - I mean really down - in a bad way down. Take this restaurant: empty... I have asked retailers and in general conversation, I have noticed that the consumer is tired, and scared. They have been asked to kick-start the economy with their spending previously. I don't think they are going to do it again.
• Customer service does not exist anymore. In the country where terms like "customer centric" and "delighting the customer" was invented, I see very little of that practiced. Maybe it is because of the general atmosphere, but the customer service people are just not doing it.