Like many people who enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner, I spent the Friday afterwards recovering from a slight hangover while I drank coffee on the couch and lazily watched the news. I didn't go to celebrate Black Friday. but I'm all for that holiday. I love giving and I love receiving gifts-it's a nice way to show others how much you care about them. Both the left and the religious right love to complain about consumerism and how you shouldn't have to spend money on anyone to show you love them-you are right, you don't have to, but it's still a nice thing to do. In my experience the people who complain the loudest about consumerism over the holidays are the ones who complain the loudest when you don't buy them anything. And obviously nice, well thought out gifts don't have to be expensive.
Anyway I lurched out of my house around 1:00 and casually drove to the local mall, just to see for myself if people still went to malls. To my surprise and horror, the mall was completely packed. No parking spaces at all were available and people were parking in other plazas near the mall. I didn't bother to go into stores because I wasn't really shopping-just there to satisfy my own curiosity.
Of course I know that my own area doesn't mean that every mall in the country was packed. From what I've seen on the news though it does seem that mall traffic has gone up this season. That's a good thing of course, consumers spending money means that the economy is getting better. It's an interesting thing too. You don't need to be an expert to see how brick and mortar retail is plummeting around the country. This Black Friday might show that they still have a little bit left.
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