‘Twas the day after Thanksgiving, when all through the store – shoppers came early, for bargains galore – Some arrived early, to wait in long lines – Some pushed and some shoved, just to save a few dimes – They call it Black Friday, but by the time we’re all through – we may be covered with bruises, and be black and blue – If I could give some advice, which I believe you might value – order online, and they’ll deliver it, too.
I’ve done it before. I’ve said I would never do it again, but I have. Oops, I did it again this year. Our daughter called and asked if we wanted to go have breakfast out. I’m usually all in favor of breakfast out…breakfast in…breakfast over…well, you get the point. I knew it was Black Friday, but I was gullible…and hungry. I thought, “We’ll all go have a nice breakfast and be back home in plenty of time for the 11:00 kickoff.”
We didn’t go early enough to be the first ones in line. At one particular shoe store in town, if you are in the first 100 through the door, you get a discount. They pass out scratch-off cards that reveal how much you will save. What it does not reveal is how much you will spend! I know, you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, right, probably everyone gets $2 off on a $200 pair of tennis shoes.” Actually, a few years back, I won $100 off on any $300 pair of shoes. I gave it to my daughter. After all, she was the one who talked me into going down there in the first place, so it seemed like the right thing to do…to her, it seemed like the right thing to do. Now, I’m old enough to remember the days when that amount of money bought you several pairs of shoes. Nowadays, it usually won’t buy one pair; but hey, I’m not complaining…not much. I’m thankful to have shoes.
Do you know that shoe stores don’t take trade-ins? Car dealers will take your old worn-out vehicles as a trade-in on a new car. You know, now that I think about how little they gave me for my last worn-out car, scratch-off discount cards might be a better idea!
Anyway, Black Friday is an important day for retailers. It is the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season. The unofficial beginning starts around July 5.We run all the holidays together so much now that I’m singing “The Star-Spangled Silent Night!” In mid-July, we see something online and think, “Wouldn’t Sally Jane love to get that for Christmas.” The problem with buying things that early is we forget where we hid them.
Anyway, Black Friday is usually the largest retail day of the year. For some merchants it is the day when they begin to turn a profit for the fiscal year. When that is the case, it is the day when they cease to operate “in the red” and begin to operate “in the black.” Hence, “Black” Friday. For shoppers, it may be “Blue Friday” because when it’s all over, we have “saved” so much money, that it has left us feeling blue!
It has been suggested that we change the name from Black Friday to Good Friday. That’s not a good idea, because we already have a Good Friday. Good Friday comes the Friday before Easter, but had it not been for the event that we celebrate on Easter, Good Friday would have indeed been Bad Friday. Actually, there are no bad Fridays, so just TGIF on the sixth day each week!
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com or 334-728-5514 (office).
