WORKING BLACK FRIDAY

Today is 'Black Friday'...reportedly the busiest shopping day of the year...the Friday following Thanksgiving. They call it Black Friday...because every business makes money (in the 'black') that day.

Yesterday...Thanksgiving Day...our newspaper was thicker than our usual Sunday paper. On Sundays...there's the news...and all the ads for the week. But yesterday...in preparation for Black Friday...EVERY store in our city had an ad section in the paper...or so it seemed.

I happened to be on-call for the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend. I got called in this morning at 3am. Usually...at 3am...there are few cars on the road with me. But today...there were lots of cars...apparently people on their way to early shopping. A few stores in town opened at 4am...more at 5am. Those 3am cars, I guess, were on their way to get in line for those 4am openings.

I got done at the hospital and was back on my way home at 445am. The Menards store (big box store that's similar to Loews and Home Depot) is on my way home. The lot was filling with cars...with lots of them with their lights on and running...it was 25 degrees at the time...as they waited for the 5am opening. Cars that weren't pulling in to Menards...were turning right at the next intersection...heading to the mall that is about 1 mile north of Menards.

I was glad I was on call this weekend...and not out in the craziness of shopping at 3am...and 5am.

I'm not a good shopper anyway...but I'd be a nasty shopper at those hours!


Dan