Black Friday
Well…it’s coming. It is just a few days away!
We have all become accustomed to Black Friday. It’s the Friday after Thanksgiving…the day we begin our holiday shopping. This year, because of the throng of bargain hunters; many stores are now open on Thanksgiving Day. Many stores have even increased their Internet sales activity in an attempt to take some of the stress from their stores. CNN, in a recent report, stated that Black Friday had become a “holiday” of its own.
My local paper had a story in the paper about a roadie for a professional band who was using the down time of the band being off tour, to camp in front of a Best Buy. He had pitched a tent on the sidewalk complete with a cooking stove, and cots. He had family members manning the tent so he could run home and use the bathroom, and shower. He planned on being first in line…after spending a little over a week of his life “homeless” as he waited to make his big score in the store.
We have all seen the stories of plans calling for increased police activity to help curb the crowds from getting out of hand. I guess, so much for holiday good cheer. Me, I don’t see the point. I am not willing to fight the crowds. I want no part of fighting for parking spaces, waiting in long lines, and scrounging around in crowded stores. No, give me my leftover turkey sandwich, vegetating in front of the television…and if I feel like shopping, pointing and clicking my way to savings on my computer.
I am not going to bemoan the fact that others will be out there on Black Friday. We are a capitalist society. People’s jobs depend on people heading to the stores, credit cards in hand! We are all aware how Black Friday got its name. Red ink on spreadsheets becomes black ink if enough of you swipe that plastic card on this magical day until the end of the year.
I just hope that the name, Black Friday, is always associated with retailers becoming profitable. I hope it is never associated with people getting shot and killed over a parking space, or people crushed in the frenzy of a store’s door being opened up. I hope Black Friday doesn’t become about customers cutting into long lines, or berating some poor sales clerk because the store ran out of a sale item.
The object of our holiday gift giving is to honor the people we love…to show them how much we value them in our lives. It just seems that we devalue that expression of love, if we have mistreated others along the way in the pursuit of that gift.
So, everybody…let’s all take a collective sigh, and a deep breath, and pledge the following…
· I will not fight with anyone over a parking spot, even if I got there first…their potential loaded gun on the front seat will always trump my raised middle finger.
· I will maintain my cool demeanor at all times, even if the sales person is being a jerk. Perhaps what they are dealing with in their life is more difficult than what I am going through dealing with them. Resist the urge to give them a piece of your mind…remember, the more of your mind you give away, the less mind you will have.
· Those of you waiting on all of us, please be kind, courteous and helpful. Always remember, you do not work for the government…you should come to work each day during the holiday season with the objective of helping others.
· Vow that you will not cut in line, or interrupt a sales transaction to ask a lengthy question, or be rude to your fellow shoppers. See rule #1 about the gun. Your number one objective is to survive the holiday shopping season. It is better to be without a gift than it is to be dead.
· I will enjoy the holidays. I will not put such a burden on myself that I fail to laugh and enjoy the company of family, friends, and neighbors. OK…OK…I will at least try to enjoy the company of friends and neighbors; after all I did have a hand in cultivating those relationships. The family, I will try to do my best with that collection of misfits. God knows it won’t be easy…but I promise to give it a shot…especially my spouse’s side of the family.
In ending, let’s have a joyous holiday season, and let’s try to make it joyous to those we encounter as well!
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