Black Friday

I finally caved. I did something I swore I would never do. I went shopping on Black Friday. Not only that, I got to the store just after 4am. But there was this one item I just had to have because the price was soooo good. So a friend and I went together and we were prepared to put up a fight. Did you hear what I just said?? I was prepared to throw elbows if necessary. That says something and it's not a good thing. But, to be honest, it was kind of fun. So, we're standing around our treasure, hands on, as the clock strikes five. It reminded me of that documentary, "Hands on a Hard Body", (no, not that kind of hard body), where these contestants have to have at least one hand on this pick-up truck for days until there's one left standing, and they win the truck. It was interesting, I highly recommend it. But, I digress. So, we're all standing around for an hour chatting with the people around us, being friendly. But as the employee starts to cut away the plastic between us and our treasure, things got ugly. Keep in mind, there were actual police officers- with guns- stationed by us. Not security guards- real cops. That also says something, doesn't it? So we're ripping the plastic away and literally throwing our bodies on top of the boxes so as not to lose what we've worked so hard for. I mean, good grief, I got up at 4am! In the rain! My friend, as she's lying across her box, starts getting cursed at by this guy that showed up just before 5am. Who did he think he was, getting there way after us and trying to muscle his way in? She turns and tells him, in no uncertain terms, to back off, this one's hers. She must have looked pretty convincing, cause he does. And we've done it! We won!! So weird, isn't it? We're civilized people, ready to throw down for a good deal. But, we won!!
So, I get home, on a high and go back to sleep, feeling victorious. Until I turn on the TV later that day and see the news that some poor Walmart employee in New York was killed when a Black Friday mob literally tore down the doors and trampled him. We're civilized, huh?

Bill Cosby Rocks!

Todd and I came across the classic "Bill Cosby: Himself" on TV tonight. We watched the whole thing. It takes me back to my childhood when I would listen to that album- yes, I said album, as in vinyl- going to sleep every night. I could recite that album word for word. In fact, one day in junior high, I was so bored in homeroom, I wrote out one of the stories in my notebook. I love Cosby because he could do an entire routine without cursing, or talking about sex. Well, I take that back, I heard him use the word "ass" once in an hour and a half of "Himself".
Bill Cosby was definitely a source of comfort and happiness for me as a kid and even now when I hear his old stuff. My boys listen to him sometimes as they go to sleep now, too. And I feel comfortable with that because it's so clean and so funny!
Thanks Bill!

The Dream Fulfilled

So I'm watching this amazing thing unfold on TV tonight. The completion of a dream. 45 years later. In the crowd, awaiting Obama's speech, was Jesse Jackson, with tears flowing down his face. Whether genuine or not, the man has seen something awesome. He was standing next to Martin Luther King, Jr. 40 years ago when he was gunned down. He held that dying man in his arms and saw that dream slipping away. Who would have thought, this many years later, he would be watching a black man become President of the United States? This is an exciting time in our history and we have witnessed it!