The Concordian

Media Credit: Wendy Holdren Wal-Mart shoppers crowd the electronics section looking for bargains. [Click to enlarge]

Thanksgiving. It’s filled with family, friends, and lots of food.

The day after Thanksgiving? Utter chaos.

Most sane people stay in and enjoy a lazy day and eat some leftovers. But not me, not this Thanksgiving anyway.

That’s right. I braved the madness that is Black Friday shopping.

The last time I went was during the Furby toy craze. My mom and I didn’t leave the house until about 6 that morning, obviously way too late.

It had rained that night, and as we were leaving, my mom slipped and fell down our steps. By the time we finally got there, all the Furbies were gone.

Needless to say, I was dreading to go Black Friday shopping again. That’s probably why I waited about 10 years to attempt it again.

Anyway, I left my house with about four hours of sleep on Friday morning. My mom, my cousin, and I headed out at about 2 a.m. Our destination was Wal-Mart in Charleston.

We got there around 3:30 or 4, which was actually perfect timing. They were just starting to unwrap most of the crates of items and they were handing out tickets and forming a line for the flat screen televisions.

The store was absolutely jam-packed by 5 a.m., but as for complete madness, it wasn’t that bad. People were civilized; some people were even helping each other find certain movies or clothing sizes.

While we were in the line to check out with our crazy bargains, we heard rumors that Target had been closed for a while because a man had pulled out a gun. I’m not sure if that was true, but it made me really glad that Target was second on our agenda instead of first.

The best deals Target advertised were their flat screen televisions and several $3 kitchen appliances. When we got to the store, there were still televisions left. So I’m thinking to myself, “A $3 coffee pot is not worth getting shot for.”

It was crazy, but it was a lot of fun. I think people take bargain shopping a bit too far sometimes, but if people keep everything in perspective, it makes for an exciting shopping experience.

Article Tools