Are you going out today?

Black Friday is here.  Does that bring dread or joy?

I have been out there in the past.  I was not always hoping to find that item I had been dreaming about, hoping to be at the front of the line in order to get one of the 'limit of 3 per store' that is promised.  Sometimes I have been lucky and got one of those but no sense setting yourself up for disappointment.

Instead, I decided that it would just be fun to go out and wonder around with the masses of people having no real design, no real plan, just out to get a kick and jolt from the frantic energy that embodies the moment of doors opening and the rush of shoppers looking to score.  Every now and again I would even score a deal myself without expecting one and that is a real score indeed.

If you are in to people watching, what better time or event to participate in than the greatest people show of all.  Of course you wont see every kind of people, there are just way too many kinds to see and in today's world too many people have decided to skip the insanity.  With internet shopping becoming more and more of a usable feature of life, the people that come out to do it in person is a much smaller cross section than times past...truth be told they are the more colorful lot anyway.  But you have to start early because the others that have gotten up before the crack of dawn will be ready to go back to bed and sleep till the crack of noon by 8:30.

So set the wake up timer to start the day at 7, or is it 6, wait did you say some store open at 5?, that means I have to get up and 4 and maybe just run water over my head then hit the street running and...what was that?, some stores are starting Thursday after most have eaten there turkey?  But it is Friday already, did I miss anything?  Is all the good stuff gone already?  If all the people hit the stores yesterday, will there be anything to see or do today?  What about the weirdos?  What do you mean I'm the weirdo?  How am I supposed to have any fun on Black Friday if they already had it Thursday night?  Will there be anyone there to watch?  I should take my selfie stick so I can at least see what I am doing?  That way at least one weirdo watched, mission accomplished.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.