Generally speaking, I avoid crap like Black Friday or Blackish Thursday. The things I’m interested in are rarely on sale, and the ones that are are frequently just as cheap online. However, the last two years I’ve indulged on single items that were significantly cheaper. This year, I found a single item I was interested in.
Now, in previous years, my travels have taken me to Meijer (which, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is basically Not-Wal Mart) and Best Buy (late in the day, so it wasn’t insane). This year, because Batman: Arkham City decided to crap out on me, I decided to give Toys R Us a shot. I figured, “Hey, it’s 10:30pm on Thanksgiving. Only crazy people would be at Toys R Us at 10:30pm on Thanksgiving. I should be able to get in and out without much trouble.”
As it turns out, I was both right and very, very wrong.
I rolled up to my local Toys R Us around 10:45, expecting to breeze in and out. My first clue that I was going to be very, very wrong was the news van and cop car outside. My second clue was that there appeared to be a queue for the checkout line.
See, I was right that only crazy people would be at Toys R Us at 11pm on Thanksgiving. However, as it turns out, there are a lot of crazy people.
The item I wanted was right inside the entrance. I grabbed one, then started looking for the checkout line. I followed it back, and around, and through various aisles, until I found myself at the other end of the store.
Now, I’m a patient man, but I was there to pick up one thing. There were people in line that looked like they were stocking up for the Toy Apocalypse, as if some kind of bomb was going to go off and only destroy all the toys. Carts that had been stuffed to overflowing, towering over their owners.
However, because I’m an idiot, I trusted the employee that said that it moved faster than it looked and got in line anyway. In fifteen minutes I moved ten feet, which doing some quick math would have put me there until about 2 or 3am. So, I set down my item and walked out, no longer willing to be part of this insanity.
Ultimately, I learned something tonight. I am, by most definitions, a crazy person. However, as crazy as I might be, the people that were willing to sit in that line on Thanksgiving are much, much crazier than I am.
