For me this year it will mean working in retail on Black Friday. I arrive at 4:45 am. The "deals" will be unveiled at 5:00 am to the throngs hoping to find something special at a special price. Since most major retailers "leak" their ads days early, what will be on sale will not be a surprise...except to us. We aren't told what items will be on sale in our departments until the night before. That night before is Thanksgiving, and I'm off that day. No big deal (pun intended). You do the best you can. Apologize for running out of certain items early (while supplies last). Be patient. Be polite. Pop an extra antidepressant (or two). Work the shift. And go home early (1:45 pm). Then, it's over. Perhaps I will find something special for a special price as well. Perhaps not. I've never really done the Black Friday shopping thing. I've never truly understood why people get up (or stay up all night) to fight the crowds, the lines, the rudeness that sometimes ensues, the "humanity of it all" akin to the Hindenburg disaster without the flames. Though people have died in past years.
Then there are the bells. Standing outside most every retail outlet through Christmas...the Salvation Army bell ringers. I'm already feeling a bit like Quasimodo and it's still two days from Thanksgiving!
My fondest recollections of the holiday shopping season comes from visits to Sears or Montgomery Wards. When the decorations were all set and the family went shopping, usually after Thanksgiving, I would head straight for the train set display in the middle of the store. There was always a huge decked out Christmas tree, bigger than life or anything we could fit in our house. The Lionel train set ran around, over and under the tree and the presents. White smoke puffed out of the big, black steam engine pulling what seemed like hundreds of train cars. Every once in a while, the whistle would blow. A full-sized, fake Santa stood guard near the tree, waving, nodding, and turning side to side...greeting all who stood in awe at the display. Off in the distance, the "real" Santa sat in front of his little red, snow-covered workshop. Children waiting in line nervously, some crying from the fear of their first lap visit with the jolly old gent. At one large shopping center in Van Nuys, Santa was flanked by real reindeer in cages. One even had its nose painted red. Geeze, do I look like a happy camper? The shot was either just before or just after a crying jag. I was scared shitless! It was the first time I smelled gin...but, certainly not the last. Clowns and Santa...not little-kid-friendly icons to meet up close and personal. Who thought up that picture on Santa's lap thing anyway? Oh, that's right. Adults did.Have a nice Thanksgiving.
