This week starts the busiest segment of the year. The two biggest shopping days of the year happen during the upcoming weeks. The biggest shopping day of the year is the last Saturday before Christmas. The second biggest shopping day of the year is Black Friday. What is often referred to as the ‘season of cheer’ becomes what one writer referred to as the ‘season of fear.’ This happens as people’s schedules speedup, people impose expectations on themselves, there are expectations put upon people by family, friends, schools, and church and work – all of this becomes almost unbearable at times. Advice found in last week’s USA Weekend was: “Don’t let social phobia ruin your holidays.” The term ‘social phobia’ is used to describe the symptoms that a significant number of people suffer during this segment of the year.
The day after Thanksgiving is often referred to as ‘Black Friday.’ The term was first used by police and retail workers to describe the day’s unimaginable traffic jams and badly-behaved customers. The term has migrated to refer to the day when retailers begin to see their income statements move from ‘red’ to ‘black.’ Black Friday has become such a nightmare that dozens of news agencies are offering advice to those who can’t stay home on how to survive the day.
Oklahoma's Enid News & Eagle offers these thoughts this year: “These stampede-type sales have gotten out of hand. … Let's all just keep our cool, enjoy the bargains and — most of all— be safe.” There is an iPhone app called ‘Dealnews’ that offers the latest news on Black Friday. All of this reporting, news and advice comes one year after a Long Island Wal-Mart employee was tragically trampled to death as the doors opened for in the early morning of ‘Black Friday.’
So everyone: Get in. Sit down. Put your helmet on. Make sure your seatbelt is tightly fastened around your waste. Get ready for takeoff. Let me remind you that in case of a loss of cabin pressure an oxygen mask will appear before you. Simply place it over your face and breath. Then continue to follow the stampeding crowds as the race of the year continues. Do not slow down or you will miss the buyer’s remorse and post holiday blues that are a benefit of how we do what we do. Merry Christmas.
Does it have to be that way?
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