Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I have started to prepare for a family tradition - Black Friday. This tradition was introduced into our family by my sister-in-law and has been going strong for many years. For those not familiar with the concept, I will explain. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when retailers slash prices on big ticket items (think televisions, computers, game systems) and open early in the morning - 5 a.m. It is said this is the first day of the year that the retailers are actually in the black and making a profit.
I, too was once skeptic about getting up before dawn to stand in lines in the freezing cold only to battle through crowds for the chance to snatch up merchandise at rock-bottom prices. Now I am a committed shopper with the battle scars to prove it.
More strategical planning goes into this shopping expedition than most ground wars that have been fought. You starts weeks before Thanksgiving scouting out "Black Friday" websites, looking for the best deals. On your way over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house, you pick up the Thanksgiving edition of the paper to pour over the ads while the turkey is digesting. You make lists, check opening times and then draw straws to decide which poor soul gets to stand in line while everyone else stays in the car until the doors open. One year, my brother and sister-in-law announced that a new addition would join our family in June. Guess who stood outside that year? Me.
Actually, standing in line isn't too bad. Everyone is surprisingly jovial at 4:15 a.m. You are all there for a shared purpose. And if you're lucky, you'll get your face on television as local news networks show up every year to document the insanity as the doors open and you are pushed along with the flow of a crowd desperate to get the two Wiis the store is selling.
Most people will just shake their head in disbelief when you talk about getting up at 3:30 a.m. to get in on the bargains. They really dont' realize what they are missing. The adrenalin rush of being shoulder to shoulder with perfect strangers in a quest for an MP3 player. This is the only time of year that it is permissible to run through the mall without being chased. The amazing buys that keep us coming back each year.
One year, we were all at my folks' for Thanksgiving. We got up at 3:30 a.m. to go into Watertown, South Dakota for the sales. My brother and I stood in line while my father, sister-in-law and nephew stayed in the car until the appointed time. The doors open, we were caught in the rush of bodies moving forward and off we went to get our chosen items. The rest of the family ambled in after the doors opened to get carts to carry our cornicopia of great deals. I put my vacuum cleaner, DVD player and crockpot in a cart with my purse and left my father in charge of the booty while I went off to take advantage of a sale on pajamas with feet. Upon my return, my father was nowhere to be found, but the cart stood right next to a bench full of older gentlemen holding their wives' purses. As I approached the cart to check and see that I hadn't been relieved of my wallet, one of the men questioned me as to my identity. My answer was, "who are you?" The man proceeded to tell me that he was watching the cart for Warren and no one was to take anything from the cart. Even at his advanced age, I think he could have "put the hurt on me". I tried to assure him that I was Warren's daughter and had every right to be rolling away my own purchases. He was not convinced. Just about the time he reached for his cane to protect his territory, my father appeared and thanked the man for his vigilence. Questioning my father's sanity for leaving the valuables with a man we didn't know, he simply replied that his name was Bill and although he didn't know him, he looked like a trustworthy fellow.
The legend of Bill and the Black Friday shopping that brought him into our lives is still relived at our thanksgiving feasts. Black Friday is not just about the great buys. It's also spending time together enjoying each other's company and knowing that in a place where it's every man for himself, you have someone watching your back and keeping your crockpot from getting stolen. I pray that you have a blessed Thanksgiving. See you in line!
3 comments:
El Gee - thanks for talking about a time that I will never see. My closest recollection is having my Dad wake me up as a small boy to go fishing. He would simply strip me of my covers and my little body would shiver until I got up and put some clothes on. By that time, he would have fried bacon and eggs, which we could consume without tasting and head out the door to catch the little brookies on some far-away creek. As I got older, I discovered the fish might not bite as good in the daylight as they do in the dawn of a noon day, but hey, if I didn't catch anything, I didn't have to clean anything. Anyway, 3:30 a.m., 4:14 a.m. and other times that I read about in your blog are simply times of the day that I have no familiarity with, nor do I want to. But I enjoyed reading about your adventures...but can't say I caught the bug to get up that early.
"If I've done it once I've done it a million times!" NOT!!I guess I'm one of those"not familiar with" folks.It sounds like State basketball tournaments,Shopping,hunting,and fishing all rolled into one.The part about the man with the cane reminded me of a pizza buffet I once attended.It's not the early hours that would make it hard for me.Pat,my son,and I went hunting at three-thirty AM a couple weeks ago.I did that so he could someday say,"My dad used to get me up at 3:30 in the morning to go hunting."We could have left later but where is the memory in that.To tell you the truth,I cannot think of one item I want at a store.The last great buys I made,two boat seats,are gathering dust in my garage waiting for a boat to sit in.If they had a similar sale on food;like,.50cent ham,or .10cent bacon,or maybe .35cent beef roast,or.10cent mushroom soup..The coffee would be on at 3:30 and the smell of fried bacon would permeate the house.The only time I get into the non-food section of a store is to find someone.You might say technology left me in the meat department.I admire your zeal,and I may study the ads.Who knows, maybe I'll wake Pat again early enough Friday to go hunting again.This time it will be for a"Blue light special"at the Big K.
Happy hunting, my friend!
Post a Comment