Are people fricken crazy?

For the first time ever I was in a store when the sales began the day after Thanksgiving. Me and several thousand others... in my store alone. I was there because I was working. As for the others.... Are you fricken crazy? Seriously folks, are you crazy? I got pushed around and knocked around. I tolerated and took it, because I was being paid for it... but the others... yep, they were all just fricken crazy!

It started out years ago as a good time to kick off the holiday sales. It has since become an annual shopping frenzy that makes no sense at all. Retailers open their doors extra early and offer special limited time only specials to lure the customers in. And the customers come, in droves... and purchase items that they really don't want or need but can't seem to resist the special purchase price. And all those people they stood in line behind at the registers after standing in line to receive one of the limited mass produced quantities for, yep, they'll all be standing in line together again the day after Christmas to return or exchange the items they fought so hard to buy... because nobody really ever even wanted or needed them.

I heard that a fellow worker at another store, in another state, was killed during the shopping frenzy. I find the news appalling. Actually I find the whole idea behind Black Friday quite ridiculous. Under normal circumstances the average person would avoid crowds and long lines. So why this big fuss over Black Friday? If someone were to say on any other day of the year... 'Hey, everyone in America is going to go shopping at 5am tomorrow for stuff they don't want or need' most sane people would stay home. But not Black Friday.

And me... the one most likely to be considered crazy, does my shopping on any other day but Black Friday, because you know what? I'm not that fricken crazy!

I'm almost willing to bet that there was a greater turn out for Black Friday than there was for the Presidential Election. Perhaps they should have pushed the election back and set up the polls at all major shopping malls and retail outlets on Black Friday. There might have been a whole new outcome for President, and one of my fellow workers might still be alive.

The girls and I went to my favorite quaint little tourist town to get Dickidoo's presents. He is such a hard person to shop for. I don't know if he honestly forgets that he has been given a gift, if he purposely sets it to the side for safe keeping, or if he just doesn't like anything we get him, but unless it's food or drink, the gifts pretty much remain untouched. I used to joke that I only bought him things that I liked because I knew I would be the only one using it. Well, it's pretty much the truth. But this year I think... I hope... he'll actually be inspired to use the gifts we got him.

I'll get him a 6 pack of Coors just in case...

Gabe and Ryott will be here in 5 days! Woo hoo!