FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022 - BLACK FRIDAY

 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022 - BLACK FRIDAY

Ah, yes - tis the season to spend money on Christmas Presents!!!

The first two “Black Friday” memories are from South Dakota and one memory is from Texas.

Memory 1:

The weather had turned sour.  We had intended to drive to Minnesota (Rosemount) for Thanksgiving with my wife’s family but the cold, snow, and ice became a giant traffic cop with arms that threw ice pellets at anything that moved.  We had Thanksgiving dinner with faculty colleagues who also had to change plans because of the weather.  

We decided we could make the hour's drive to Sioux Falls for the fabulous Bad Friday bargains.  We got about 18 miles to Colman (a small town just before getting on Interstate 29) and did a 180-degree spin on highway 34 - yikes.  Okay, I could slow down (from 35 to 30) and we might make it”.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) we were one of the few cars on the road - AND - we stayed out of the ditch.  So we forged on.  On the Interstate there were more cars and trucks in the ditch than on the road.  With a wind of 30 miles per house and a wind chill of minus 10 degrees, we were being blown around on that highly polished ice.  Another major spinout and we decided it wasn’t worth the drive.  We took the first exit off I-29 - but then got off the paved roads and onto gravel roads.  The paved roads were ice skating rinks, and the gravel gave us better traction.  I knew the gravel roads would be safer, so back about 25 miles to Madison on gravel roads with the wind attempting to blow us off.

Memory 2:

At that point, I wasn’t a good shopper.  (I’m a million times better now that I’m on my own).  My wife had explicitly pointed out five things she wanted.  I drove on my own to Sioux Falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and BOOM - within 45 minutes had purchased all the items she wanted and was back on the road home.  I guess I could follow directions and suggestions quite well!!!  (No bad weather!!!)

Memory 3:

And, a trip from Austin to Nebraska.

It was my first year teaching at the University of Texas.  We were headed to Nebraska for Thanksgiving.  But, I had to teach on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  At that point pretty much all colleges and school districts had the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving as school days.  My last class at UT (the University of Texas - more commonly called “UT’ to the locals) ended at 4:00.  I got home (on the bus) by 5:00 and my wife and I piled into our car.  My wife had loaded all the Christmas packages into the car - and we started off.

Interstate 35 runs from the Mexico border all the way to Duluth Minnesota - and the section in Texas is ALWAYS under construction.  There was rain - sometimes hard, sometimes just a heavy mist - but the road was wet (and fortunately, not icy).  

The road through Waco was one of those construction areas - cars had to weave from the old section onto the new section, then under temporary overpasses, and from four lanes to three lanes and then to two lanes.  

In that pretty much all schools had finished on that Tuesday afternoon, all the families driving “over the river and through the woods” were on the road.  

I don’t know how it happened - we must have had guardian angels surrounding us (I do start most long trips with prayer) - but coming around an area that suddenly went down to two lanes and all the cars ahead were stopped.  I threw on my brakes and somehow - amazingly - miraculously we stopped about 1/64th of an inch from a car’s bumper ahead of us.  (And, miraculously, the car behind us stopped without slamming into us).

We drove into Oklahoma that evening.  I didn’t want to stop for gas or food until we got to a safer place.  We stayed at a small hotel that was on a Native American Reservation that had a casino.  My wife had to untwist my white-knuckled fingers off the steering wheel - and with a pounding headache, we stopped for the night.  

That was the closest call I/we had into all the trips I’ve taken.  

*****

In my opinion, Black Friday now is better.  It isn’t the idea that Target (or whatever store) opens at 4:00 a.m. - and shoppers line up for a quarter mile to be one of the first 100 in the store to get a television for $50 (or some similar bargain).  It seems like most are having Black Friday specials all month (and even more are doing such specials online).  

Also, in my opinion, there are a few such bargains that I MUST have.  There are a few things that I need (although there are more things that I want).  So what if I don’t get the bargain item - it is only money - and I have become very frugal.  I have convinced myself that I don’t really need things that much.  

*****

THINGS - are material possessions.  At age 75, I can’t take them with me to my grave.  (I have heard of a biker who wanted to be buried with his motorcycle - but that’s not me).

I anticipate that when I die, the local thrift shop will be called in to survey what material things I have and take what they can resell, and send the others to the dump.

*****

But, yes, I will be out on Black Friday this year.  For 6.5 hours I will be at the senior facility where I work - taking an extra shift so some of the others can take the long weekend off to be with their families.  I will be at their Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday helping my patients/friends in the memory care unit have a special day.  I’ll be singing “Now thank we all our God”, “We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing'', “Come you Thankful People come, raise the song of Harvest Home”.  This is a day to give great and glorious praise and THANKS to our God (he/she/it/ahh/the force).

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, NOVEMBER 25, 2022