Black Friday

I'm not a shopper. So my obsession with Black Friday came as a surprise to me. It's my husband's fault. In my book, sleep trumps shopping any day, but he got me out one year and it became a sport. Extreme Shopping. No, actually, for us: Extreme Exaggeration. The ultimate scavenger hunt: How many wacky situations can you encounter in one morning?
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So the night before... we prepare. Scour the ads. Map the route. Verify store opening times. Spread false rumors to others and redirect the crowd. Stuff like that.
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The term "Black Friday" was first used in 1966 in Philadelphia & it was used by the police in relation to the traffic jams and overcrowding. They had terrible trouble controlling. . .

. . . jaywalkers.

Isn't it sad how far we've declined? In the '60's and '70's, the rush and multitude led to jaywalking, in 2008, it led to death by trampling (Walmart) and death by fighting (Toys R Us duel). Desperation, greed, selfishness, illplaced affections, stress, rush, ill manners.
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If you're going to shop at 4 in the morning, you are going to look suspicious, sneaky. It wasn't to intimidate anyone. Really. Stealth Shopping. Under the cover of darkness.

Marj: "I got my game face on."

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Call us naive, but we were stunned when we arrived at Khol's and there were no parking spots available. I was stunned Starbucks wasn't open, what a business they would have done, so disappointing. As we familiarized with the store, I did my people watching.

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Within minutes of arrival, Patti secured us a spot in the check-out line which had already reached clear around the store & into the back. We took turns shopping & standing in line holding our place. We did not, however, take turns making Starbucks coffee trips like I've done in past years (KATH!). Bad, bad Starbucks.

Honestly, the sales weren't very good. Definitely not worth getting up at 3 and waiting in hour long lines. I just don't get it. I really don't understand why so many people do this. There are rare "door busters" that are worth it, but they are few & far between & usually become family folklore for many years following.
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But Black Friday is.... well.... a national tradition. Did you know Black Friday even had a presence on twitter this year? There were several websites dedicated to Black Friday shopping & of course many books capitalizing on the term.
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More recently, Black Friday has taken on the idea of being the time of year when stores go "in the black" - start making a profit. It's hard to imagine them not making profits all year long with prices being so outrageous.

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But anyway... I do like the rush. The adreneline. The (eventual) coffee stops. The break for breakfast.

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I love watching how crazy people can be. At one store, I wanted to buy a sports-team hoodie. It was one for $35 or two for $30. I told him I really, seriously only wanted one. I didn't like the sports teams advertisted, except this one, and it was a gift. "One is $35, maam, I can't change that," he says, all authority like. They paid me $5 to take a hoodie. Yeah, profits must be real good and managers a little low on brains. So I ended up with 2. (and some of you guys out there will see these babies wrapped up under the tree)
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So that's my summary of Black Friday.

Like I said....

I'm not a shopper.