~*~Black, Black Friday~*~

[esa]

...The day after a major Holiday....
...People merge together to do a very sacred thing...
...At very special places...
...At a time too damn early for the roosters to even wake...
...At places that are still ripping you off....
Some say it's the biggest marketing day all year, when stores make the most money. We shop for the season of love...for the season of giving. The sole problem is this... The happy triptofeign (sp?) surge is over... you know ...the contented sleep feeling you get from turkey. Triptofain=Turkey bound Acid. So with this trip over, the evil of humanity comes out.
I expect not only to get a bargain or two....but be run over by shopping carts...be cut off on the roads...have colorful language screamed at me if I even look at the last SpongebobSquarePants doll...even if there is no intent on buying it...and have ye' old last nerve trompled to death by the two year old screaming his head off because he's not getting that SBSPDoll because mommy ended up snarling and biting a huge piece of the dolls head off in the skirmish....thus, no SPSP's Doll this year from Santa... who also hates black friday shopping. Why does he come to the mall before December 1st anyways...he will be kicking himself.

Oh well.. if you're one of the idiots like myself trying to brave the holiday tradition...be careful. I don't need to tell you it's a jungle out there. For those of you who don't know what it's like....Take the one guy at the gig...the drunk one...the one that "tells you" how to play..who sings with you... who shares your beer with you....spills half of it on you...the other half on your speakers.... and then won't leave. EVER. That is Black Friday people...times 4.

[Jim Price]

This time of year, I stock up on everyday things I need BEFORE Black Friday and the shopping mess. Walmart won't see my smiling face now until after the first week in January, unless I stop in at 2 or 3 in the morning. The malls won't see me after I deliver magazines in December.

I started my holiday shopping in November. And while everybody and their brother heads to Altoona from the surrounding small towns to do their holiday shopping, I'll do what I typically do every year - head to the small towns to do whatever shopping I have left! Last year, I did all my holiday shopping in Tyrone and Huntingdon. The year before, I did it in Cresson and Portage (I found an Ozzy bobblehead in a Portage drug store!). This year, maybe I'll plunder Philipsburg and Clearfield...

Then again, I mostly buy for co-workers and drunken friends, so I have no need to do shopping cart battles for the Sponge-Bobs and other overpriced, overhyped toys.

And now that the season has started, I'm keeping an ever watchful eye to the tube to see what absurd household gadgets Ron Popeil and the Ronco folks can come up with for just $19.95 this year. They're always good for a laugh...

[bassist_25]

Christmas is a funny time of year. You see the two extremes of behavior. On one hand, people are usually more willing to help their fellow man in a time of need. On the other hand, people will kill each other at a department store to get the latest Tickle-Me-Elmo or Cabbage Patch Kid.

On a related note - Conan O'Brien did his "mouth over" skit the other evening with Arnold and he didn't do his token plug for Jingle All The Way. I was disappointed.

[ZappasXWife]

Great idea JP going to small towns. I really like supporting small businesses. I also did some shopping on the internet this year for the first time, and even when paying for S/H I still saved beaucoup bucks. FYI, tryptophan in turkey does not make one sleepy, that is a myth. Its not enough Tr, and the addition of other foods nulls the effect. It is more likely to occur from all the carbs we eat that day and subsequent crash. But turkey DOES give you really bad gas...

[songsmith]

Ah, the music of the holidays! ---->JMS