Good morning Black Friday

I'm amazed, simply amazed this morning. As I sit here at my desk overlooking a shopping center across the freeway, I just can't believe what I'm seeing. Every day since I've been working here at Best Buys corporate campus, I've never seen the shopping center across the street full to capacity. Sure, Target is usually decently busy, and occasionally Herbergers parking lot gets to about half-full status, but today, today is a different story all together. Today, every single parking space is occupied. There is a line of cars outside the shopping center waiting to turn into it; a line that is not moving! Oh yeah and did I mention that it's only 6:30 am!!!

Seriously, what is it about the day after Thanksgiving that makes people so crazy for shopping. I get that there are some good deals out there, but all the money you are saving on these deals can't cover the amount of physical and emotional trauma that must be occurring in those parking lots, let alone inside the stores. All the pushing and racing to get to that coveted door-buster item, then standing in line guarding your goodies so that dodgy looking fellow with the limp doesn't steal your brother-in-law's (whom you don't even like) new toaster. Which, by the way, your getting for only $20, instead of $34.99! I can't even imagine what today must feel like for the poor people working in retail right now (and my wife is among them).

The only thing that comes to my mind about this crazy phenomenon, is that we as a society need to work off all of those calories we consumed during our insanely over abundant Thanksgiving day feasts! Don't get me wrong, I love a good deal. If there's something labeled with free, I want it. I don't care what it is. Seriously, it could be a free ass kicking and I'd be interested, but I can only take so much stupidity at a time. That many people, that close together, is a recipe for mass homicide that I want no part of.

So good luck to all of you who are out there waiting in line for your deal of deals. I'll be here in my cubicle on the 6th floor watching you as you gun your engine to try to park your gigantic SUV into a compact car spot. And I'll be laughing. You can count on it.