Black Friday...Indeed

At least, that is how it turned out for one poor, unlucky soul in New York this morning where a Wal-Mart employee was actually trampled to death...I'll repeat that..."trampled to death" by an over-zealous, out-of-control stampede of early morning shoppers. I've been going to write about this all day, but am still in a state of "disbelief" about the whole thing. I mean, people stepped over the man to go into the store and, later, shoppers complained, yes, I said COMPLAINED when the store announced it was closing temporarily due to the tragedy. They whined because they had been in line since Thursday morning. So, stupid is as stupid does, is all I have to say about that. Don't believe me...read about it here.

Of course, I live in a city that has the unfortunate distinction of being the locale of the ill-famed "The Who" concert in December 1979 where eleven people were trampled/crushed to death (and dozens more injured) when the crowds rushed the doors at the Riverfront Coliseum, (as it was called then) so perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised at how galactically stupid some people can be. The band was performing a "sound check" and the crowd thought the concert was starting, and, since the venue was using "festival" seating, meaning first-come/first-served...well, the rest is history.

Music Wench wrote about the Wal-Mart stampede on her blog, too. I had a feeling this would be a topic that would spur her to write about, and she did not fail me. She also recounted the story of why she stopped doing the day after Thanksgiving shopping-thing, and that got me thinking about the reason I stopped participating in that annual ritual as well.

Now, I have never been one to get up ultra-early in the morning and go stand in line for hours in the cold or rain or what-have-you, looking for that "gotta have" deal. That is not to say I never ventured out on Black Friday. I used to, but not anymore. Mainly because, I cannot endure large crowds of people at my ripe old age. For the most part, they're just mean and rude and obnoxious. If I want to subject myself to that kind of idiocy, I'll just turn on Fox News, but I digress.

The "incident" that has forever dissuaded me from seeking out that gem of a special sale item happened to me on a day after Christmas shopping trip instead of a Black Friday outing, however. Like Music Wench, my "life altering" moment came back in the early-to-mid-80s. Back then, I used to "Christmas" like nobody's business. And, yes, I meant to say it that way, because Christmas was very much an "action" word to me. I would start shopping the day after Christmas for the next year. My holidays now are drastically different, but that's another story for another time.

Back then, my favorite thing was to go to the Hallmark store the day after Christmas to stock up on cards, wrapping paper, ornaments and such for the next holiday season. All their Christmas stuff was half off...you can't beat that with a stick. But this one year, and I cannot remember which year it was precisely, I had scoped out this one ornament in particular. It was a Santa with a bag full of presents slung over his shoulder, sitting perched atop an old fashioned bicycle. Actually, it looked more like a tricycle what with the huge front wheel and teeny-tiny rear wheel. He was gorgeous, and I had to have him, but that was back in the day when money was tight, so I decided to wait and try to get him for half-price the day after Christmas.

So, my friends, Darryl and Jane, and I drove up to the Huntington Mall bright and early the day after Christmas, which just happened to be on a Sunday that year, so the stores were not opening until noon that day. As luck would have it, I was the first one in line...not that that would ultimately matter.

As I stood there, a crowd began to grow around me, and I struck up a conversation with one lady. Turns out, she was after the same ornament. We had already scouted them out...there were two left-- one in the box and the display ornament. Now, a true "collector" wants to have the original box for eventual "resale" value, but at this point, I just wanted the damn ornament.

The store had one of those chain-like doors that opened like a garage door from floor to ceiling. At some point, my friends came back to check on me, and they saw me pressed up against the door, my fingers entwined in the links, clutching on for support. When I think back on it, I realize I must have looked like one of those "Garfield" toys suction-cupped in someone's car window.

While I was standing there, I noticed this little old woman off to the side, who had this look of apprehension on her face. About that time, I overheard someone behind me saying if they saw something in someone else's hands that they wanted, they would just rip it right out of their hands. Which prompted stupid me, trying to be the voice of...you know...reason, to say, "People, people, it's Christmas." And then that very same "lady" announced in the most hateful voice that still resonates in my ears today, "Christmas was yesterday!" Shortly after that, the little old lady with the look of fear on her face wisely got out of the line.

Would that I had done the same, but I was still determined to stick it out. When the time came for the store to open and that door started to slowly draw upward, the adrenalin started churning in my gut. As soon as it was high enough, I ducked under the door and made a bee-line for the coveted Santa ornament. The other lady was with me step for step. She went low for the one in the box...I went high for the one on display. By the time I had it in my trembling hands, I was almost physically ill.

And that is when I decided....never again!

As I was walking around the store, trying to calm my frazzled nerves and half-heartedly looking at other sale items, I decided right then and there that...from that point forward...if I could not afford to pay full price for something that I wanted that "desperately" then I didn't need it. And I have been true to my word; I am not enticed/lured to stores by their sales, and I have the credit card bills to prove it. If I happen to "luck" into a bargain when I'm out shopping, then so be it...good for me.

But as for those poor, misguided souls who just had to have that LCD HD TV or the $9 DVD so much so that they lost sight of their humanity, their compassion, their basic human decency...indeed, lost sight of the very reason we're supposed to be celebrating Christmas...I have to ask: were the few dollars you saved really worth a man's life? Just ask Mr. Damour's family in case you're somehow doubtful of the answer to that question.