The Day After Thanksgiving 2006

Without any prompting, Andy was up at 4 o’clock Friday morning. In fact, he was showered, dressed, and ready to leave the house by the time we got out of bed, just long enough to see him off. No Black Friday crowds for us, thank you.

(Headline on the front page of today’s New York Times. Attention, Holiday Shoppers: We Have Fisticuffs in Aisle 2.)

Here’s a description of what took place when the Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, opened its doors at midnight. Once inside, shoppers ransacked stores, overturning piles of clothes as they looked for bargains. A retailer’s dream – too many customers! – quickly turned into a nightmare, forcing store clerks to shut their doors, and only let people in after others left. The mall even briefly closed its outside doors to avoid a fire hazard.)

JoAnna and I did go shopping later in the day. By the late afternoon, the crowds had thinned out nicely. Except for the plethora of Christmas sale signs and merchandise, it really did seem like an ordinary shopping day at the stores we visited: Circuit City, Pier 1, Kohl’s, Williams Sonoma, Penney’s, and Target. We didn’t accomplish a whole lot, however. JoAnna bought Packer and Badger clothes for little Joseph, her nephew (and godson), and we found the perfect tablecloth and dish towels for our newly accented kitchen.

Eddie was disappointed to learn that leftovers were the extent of our supper menu.

“But it’s Friday,” he protested. “It’s supposed to be a take-out night.”

“Not on the day after Thanksgiving,” I noted.

In spite of working a 13-hour day, Andy remained energized through most of the evening. He went out to dinner with Gretchen and her family. I suppose with 31 people at their house for Thanksgiving, they had no leftovers. He went to bed at 10:00, needing to be refreshed for his 8:00 to 5:00 shift today. He should have a fairly substantial paycheck to cash next week. Hopefully, Mr. Hey Big Spender will remember to put a good chunk of it in his savings account.