Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22938 – 1027
Here’s the haps:
First off, thank you all for your support and prayers. I should know by now that when I get a shot, whether it’s flu or covid or whatever I wind up getting the symptoms right away but I am doing better. Another thing I should know is that I am really not adept at using the WP app on my phone. The post about Ken D. was supposed to be about a couple of different people but somehow I wound up publishing it instead of saving it as a draft. Thus the wonky title. When I realized what had happened I was going to take it back down and finish it but there were several comments on it already and I didn’t want to mess it up. I appreciate comments and try to respond to every one as I know it takes time and effort to write a comment of any sort.
I’m not shopping this weekend. What has come to be known as Black Friday is a vulgar dichotomy to me. Thanksgiving is (or is intended to be) a time of thankfulness and solemn reflection on the many blessings we have only to be followed up with greed and materialism at insane levels. Years back a man was shot by robbers trying to steal his TV. I can remember in the early Eighties when Cabbage Patch Dolls were the big thing and even in my small hometown fistfights broke out and the police had to be called because the only store that had them started to run out and someone tried to buy a cartful of them because there was no sign saying there was a limit. This was in a time before the internet or eBay or anything. Tickle-Me-Elmo caused the same thing. People have been killed in stampedes when the doors to a store were opened.
When I worked at the Big Blue Box on Black Friday I remember how people acted when management would pull out a pallet of a sale item, wrapped in black plastic, and at a certain time, they were to open them. Customers hovered like a pack of slavering hyenas waiting for the lions to leave a carcass. And when the time to open that pallet came? The mob mentality was terrifying. And all of that to celebrate the message of “…on Earth peace, Good will to men.”
Comments
22 responses to “Blecchh Friday”
Yes, I totally agree with you and I do remember those news of people got shot or trampled on at stores. Brawls would break out and customers would trash the Walmart here just to fight for some discount items. I haven’t heard of people fighting for dolls though? I guess people in 1980s have different preferences…Now looking back, people probably won’t remember why some items were so popular back then. It doesn’t make sense now but it must have made perfect sense back then.
I have had reaction with every booster.
Black Friday and rampant consumerism is an abomination. How many of these “deals” simply remain on a shelf somewhere. If you save 50% by buying it, you can save 100% by not buying it. Glad you are feeling better. A
That’s good math!
Thanks. That’s what I think, too.
I hve had all five covid shots now and never had any kind of reaction at all … I guess I am blessed … I did have a sore shoulder with my flu shot but it went away in a few days … I am just blessed that we have access to these things …I am sorry to hear that you had to suffer over getting your shots but I am certain that you are now a lot better off for having gotten them than if you had not.
So far I have avoided in store fights over merchandise because I rarely ever go out bargain hunting …. I am pretty much of an online shopper because there are such apps as “Honey” and “Capital One” that automatically do comparison shopping and will let you know where you can get things at reduced prices …
I also know that the Scripture, Ye have not because ye ask not” has meaning to shoppers who are assertive enough to ask store managers for discounts at the point of purchase. One example: I once bought a coffee maker that had a shelf tag price of $39.95 on it for #19.95 because I showed the store manager that the item was dusty and a little grimy from setting on the store shelves for a while …and, in addition, the item was over a year old and besides that the clerk could not find a box for the item, I got my deal because I know the secrets to rarely ever paying the asking price for anything,.
Thanks John. When my Mother-in-law was alive she started a tradition of getting each grandchild a red Radio Flyer “coaster wagon”. Nothing on the internet would arrive soon enough and I searched all over town until I found a display model at an Ace Hardware. After talking to the manager for a while I got a decent discount on it and and it brought my daughter to (grateful) tears. Sometimes it’s in your approach.
Surprisingly the few places we were at today there was no madness as years past.
Well, they started having “Black Friday” sales in October this year.
Yowza
Oh, that hat is so YOU! 🤣
Thank you!
👌
Agree – just stay out of those Black Friday sales, safer!
And your money is safer, too, lol.
Agree!
Black Friday shopping is a horrible problem
I hate it. Although now that Black Friday starts in October…
A very fetching Christmas gravatar Herb. Fortunately the only Black Fridays we have are when the13th of the month lands on a Friday and brings bad luck.
Thank you. I once walked under a ladder to avoid a black cat crossing my path on Friday the 13th. Nothing happened.
You have to plan ahead for black Friday. I avoid bathing and shaving for a week, talk to myself, and brandish a large machete as I browse the stores. People have always left me plenty of space.
Now that’s a strategy that will work!😅