WHERE IS THE WORM?

There is a saying, "The Early Bird got the Worm". When it comes to Black Friday, I will leave all the worms to the other birds/shoppers. Unless the stores or the lines are for Stanley Cup games or Superbowl tickets or spending a day in the Detroit Red Wings' locker room, I would not be among the people waiting outside the doors.

I got up this morning, Friday, November 23rd, at 9:00 a.m. My husband and I ate breakfast while reading the newspaper. We watched the news and saw the people who camped out since yesterday waiting in line for "doorbusters" sales items. At 11:30 a.m. we decided that we would take care of a few errands. It was around 40 degrees and no wind chill. The above photo showed Value City (it is similar to Big Lots or Trading Posts) opens at midnight to 5:00 a.m. while K-Mart has "wake-up" sales from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. There is nothing at neither store that I would desperately want that I would be willing to stand in line for hours to get such bargain.

I read a local newspaper in Michigan that people camped out all night in 20 degree temperature. When asked, most of the people said that it has become a family tradition to be a part of Black Friday shopping tempede. Last year, my brother VL aka Qaptain Qwerty, got up at 3 a.m. and was among 200 people lined up outside the Circuit City store at Gateway Mall in Brooklyn, New York. QQ stood in line but was not able to purchase the item he wanted (Kodak Z612 camera). QQ wrote that he wasted the day and suffered from a terrible headache from all the hassle. He promised that he would never do this crazy thing again. Reading QQ's blog, he kept his promise and stayed home this year! Perhaps when I am 90 years old with nothing to do, I would not mind getting up early to stand in line at 4:00 a.m. But then again, at 90 years old I probably would not remember why I stood in line once I got inside the store, what items I wanted to get!

By the way, about a year ago, Macy's opened stores in St. Louis. My adoring fans know that I don't care for shopping. However, every few months, I would go to Macy's just for the feelings of being in New York. There is a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in St. Louis but on a much smaller scale. I went to a few Macy's Thanksgiving Parades in New York, not sure of all the years. The only year I remember well is in 1998 with my fiance/husband-to-be at the time. Perhaps next year I would try going to the parade here in St. Louis. Or I could try to get a spot holding one of the balloons or riding the float, waving to the people.