Well I made it, but just barely. It took copious amounts of chocolate and a drink or two to distract me, but I survived Black Friday without leaving the house. It wasn't pretty though. There are claw marks on the door-jamb...
I still have doubts. I have to catch my breath if I let my mind ponder what I must have missed out on.
And I most certainly missed out. Look at the extreme--if I had camped out at the local Best Buy a week ago I might have scored a free I-Pad or something from management--some bozos pulled it off elsewhere, I saw it on the news. I could have bought a dvd-tv combo with 120 Hz refresh and backlighting for a song; practically stolen a TomTom GPS for $59, or a palm-held Video camera for $49.
What? What's that you say, I didn't need those things? Fool! Of course I didn't need them, I WANTED them! I mean, they were so cheap. God help me, they were CHEAP. And, and, there would have been countless impulse buys to be had! It's the wonder, the awe, the... the OPTION, dammit! Who knows what all I missed.
Besides the crowds, that is. Oh, and the lack of items because of the minimum number kept on hand for the flyer ad. Yes, that...and the traffic, too; and lack of parking. And getting up early--ugh. But especially the unruly crowds, yes there have been a few of those. Some disagreement over the last Cabbage Patch doll on the shelf, etched into my brain long years ago.... Ah, perhaps that lady has forgotten the, er, momentary ugliness that transpired as my wife clenched her fist and beamed certain doom toward all present. Or was that me doing the beaming?
It's no use, even the uncomfortable memories don't dim the knowledge of opportunity lost. At some point, I will doubtless buy something for significantly more than I might have spent on that unctuous day. I will somehow have to live with that certainty, and reconcile myself to the loss of some other important bauble I will now not be able to afford. Curse this consumeristic universe! I buy, therefore I am... but, if I don't buy?
No comments:
Post a Comment