Black Friday, November 26th

When I finally understood the meaning of Black Friday, I was watching some news channel that explained that all those wild holiday sales from big box retailers that started the day after Thanksgiving literally kicked struggling chains “into the black” (erasing the negative “red” on their balance sheet) and made them profitable for the first time of the calendar year. (Black Friday is not to be confused with Black Wednesday or Tuesday or Monday depending on the year. This Hallmark Holiday is well-known to all single girls used to avoiding candy stores, flower shops, and jewelers simply by its more commonly acceptable name, Valentine’s Day.)

Growing up I remember nothing was open on Thanksgiving. Nothing! Even the grocery stores had very limited hours for emergency shoppers. Like those who dropped the turkey en route from the barbeque into the house or burned the hell out of Aunt Randi’s famous sweet potato pie. (Not mentioning any names here!) Some fancy hotels were open but usually it was just the local diner and a random drive-thru Burger King. Certainly no retail stores were open– it was a family holiday! And then things shifted.

Stores started to open at crazy hours on Black Friday. Target was famous for its 4am stampede and Walmart countered with midnight madness. And craziness it was. I once asked my son if we should brave the crowds and elbow in to score a big screen TV at 5am and he was all ready to set his alarm. No, of course we didn’t go. That would have been nuts! And then retailers got greedy and shoppers endorsed the trend of being open ON Thanksgiving. Gone was the spirit of relaxing with loved ones at an uncomfortable family holiday.

When I worked in banking, the overlords were reluctant to grant us even one hour off that wasn’t mandated by The Fed. But the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the gates were unlocked at just about 3pm, giving us a whole two hours of freedom before our one day off. (Black Friday is not a bank holiday! Ugh, I don’t miss those days one bit.)

Anyway, one particular year I strolled out of BigBank at precisely 3pm and had a nice walk up Fifth Avenue heading home. And on a whim, I decided to pop into Bergdorf Goodman just to have a quick browse. Much to my sheer delight, all the Friday sales were already marked. They were giving pre-holiday discounts to all the NYC stragglers that weren’t bolting out of town for Thanksgiving. The store was practically empty, too. I managed to snag a marked down pair of furry in the middle high-top sneakers for an occasional casual Friday look and a super cool ring that was 40% off! Talk about getting a jump on the good sales. What a score!

I know it’s such a cliche but it’s true that I grew up in much simpler times. There was no internet, so no online shopping, We had to wait for commercials on TV or the circulars in the paper to see the holiday styles and sales. The livin’ was easy! Back then, just like now, I am not desperate for anything. My wish list these days is about new experiences, maximizing free time, and being creative.