My worst shopping experience ever.
Wow! Knew immediately which shopping trip won this prize. Black Friday 1993!
I don’t know how long we as a country have been staying up late or getting up super early to partake in Black Friday retail sales. I can say without hesitation I participated in this shopping frenzy one time only... 1993. I thank the Lord every Thanksgiving for Amazon Prime and online shopping!
Back in 1993, four of my co-workers cooked up the idea of us making a day of Black Friday shopping at the now defunct Capital Center Mall in Columbus OH. The mall was downtown with three floors of stores. I agreed to join them but would have rather stayed home that Friday.
I thought I knew these women. Well, I didn’t know they all four were bargain hunters. I know. I should’ve known. Only people with an eye towards bargains would venture out the day after Thanksgiving to be jostled this way and that. I mean really?
We met at the mall about 9:00 that morning. I had my list in hand. Our first stop was Sears where I found an electric griddle for my husband. John loved to cook breakfast on the weekends. He’d been hinting for the griddle for months. The griddle was on sale. Of course, it was. It was Black Friday. I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the 20-inch griddle and headed to checkout. Biggest (and heaviest) item on my list was checked off at our first stop!
I caught up with my friends in the Women’s Clothing department. One of them was trying to decide whether to buy a blouse or maybe she’d get a sweater. After a lengthy discussion on which item and the price, she decided to keep looking. By the third store, my friends had all found something they wanted. All wanted to keep looking.
I hauled that griddle through every store, up and down every escalator that day. I don’t remember if I bought anything else. Seemed like that box was almost as big as me. I declined all offers of help. My griddle, my burden.
I did enjoy lunch that day. I remember we oohed and ahhed over everyone’s purchases. We gossiped about office drama, talked about Christmas plans, and discussed what was happening in our lives.
John loved his griddle. He cooked family breakfasts on that thing for about ten years before we bought a new one and tossed the old one in our annual garage sale.
The moral of my tale: Enjoy the moment even if you don’t enjoy shopping. Good friends make a huge difference in life.
What’s your Black Friday experience? What purchase stands out as your best deal ever?
