To the hunt on ‘Black Friday’

Hope A. Smith
Published: November 27, 2008

They start out in the wee hours of the morning —driven hunters, full bellies from breakfast to fuel their fire.

They jump into their Chevys, Hondas and Fords, each having been stripped of their back seat, a place in which to put their trophies of the day. Wearing their proper gear — comfortable shoes, layered clothing that will dwindle down throughout the day, and just the bare minimum of items in their pockets.

They find their way through a hellacious tangle of metal, bobbing and weaving so they’re not hit. At last — a parking space, but not without a face-off with another hungry hunter.

It’s “Black Friday,” folks, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. Supposedly the “official” kickoff of the holiday season, you’ll not find another day during the season filled with more rude, selfish people.

The first Christmas we lived in Orange — 1998 — I decided to get up with the hunters at 4 a.m. to arrive at Wal-Mart by 5 Their “doorbuster” sale was to start at 6.

Imagine my shock and surprise when I got there with hundreds of other shoppers, each running with a cart as if they were on the game show “Supermarket Sweep” and had a limited amount of time to shovel as much merchandise into their carts as they could.

Each item that was in the limited time discount section of their circular was brought out en masse on a pallet, and once they were gone, they were gone.

The employees would bring out a different item every 15 minutes, and it was anyone’s guess as to where the item would be.

After two hours and an Excedrin headache with “Black Friday” written all over it, I was done. Like, put a fork in me done.

It was awful — people running into one another with carts, fighting over merchandise. But I got some great deals. Was it enough to go through that particular ordeal again? Not so much.

But I’m a glutton for punishment.

A few years ago, my mom asked what the chances were that I would be willing to go shopping on that fateful day of the year that most people dread.

The scenario was different, though. We’d go to breakfast about 9 a.m., then casually do our shopping for our first year in Winchester. It wasn’t too terrible, not like Tysons Corner Mall on Black Friday. That’s akin to being in the depths of hell — I did it one year, many moons ago.

There was also a time, back in ’93, when I decided to get a part-time job to have some extra Christmas money. I was single and on my own, so I figured, why not? I went to Tysons (I lived in Reston at the time) and secured a part-time job with Sports Authority.

The folks there were very nice, but apparently I was not cut out for retail sales. My third day on the job was “Black Friday” and, aside from the fact that my credit card machine was down, my line was the longest. I could not move fast enough, and I could see the customers getting frustrated.

After work, nearing tears, I went to my manager. My parents taught us to never burn a bridges. So, keeping that in mind, I told my manager that I didn’t think I was cut out for retail sales, but I would be happy to give him two weeks’ notice (remember — this had only been my third day, so two weeks would have creeped by.)

He was so nice — he said he appreciated and respected the fact that I was willing to give two weeks’ notice, but he would be perfectly fine if I wanted to consider that day my last. My near-tears of stress turned into tears of joy. And my tears of joy turned into a great respect for people who work retail on a daily basis. God bless them.

We saw a commercial this morning for Prime Outlets in Williamsburg. Their “Black Friday” sales start at 12:01 a.m. Friday. I cannot think of any bargain important enough for me to give up my sleep. We’ll venture out Friday, but at a slower speed.

And when you folks are out shopping, consider your manners and the fact that the Christmas season has started. Remember the “reason for the season.”

Hope A. Smith is a community columnist and resident of Orange County. Her column appears Fridays. E-mail