I love going out in the shopping world the day after Thanksgiving Day, the day also known as Black Friday because it’s the day when many retail businesses expect to move from the red to the black, a way of saying their balance sheets go from the negative to the positive. No, I’m not out there looking for the great deals. I just love being in the ebbs and flows of the sea of humanity, watching families as they start their Christmas shopping, as mothers push their little ones in their strollers, especially in those double- and triple-long versions that require deft maneuverability to avoid collisions with others on sidewalks and around shop corners.Since I decided to take this entire week off to work on my stories and web sites, I’ve been spending most of the day in the Kierland Commons Starbucks where the lines and tables have rarely been empty for long since 7:30 am. I’ve helped one woman get her MacBook Pro connected to the T-Mobile WiFi network, listened to a family debate the merits of botox, orange peels, and living in the 10°-cooler summer weather of Las Vegas compared with Phoenix (i.e., 110° vs. 120°), watched the same little boy come in today with a Rudolph toy to replace his Abominable Snowman he had yesterday. I think he was less scared of Rudolph since he had removed his packaging while the Abominable Snowman (his mother told me he called him Bumble) remained safely in his box the entire time he was at Starbucks yesterday.
And then there’s the regulars: the two twenty-something girls studying to be homeopathic doctors still reading and taking notes as though there was no break, the group of middle-aged men who occupy the comfy chairs by the door in order to greet every attractive woman as they enter and wish them a good day as they leave, and little Amy, who appears to now have a boyfriend! Well, since most of the regulars come in as part of their pre-workday routine, not as many showed up since most were on vacation and spending time with family and friends or getting that much needed sleep they neglected since the last holiday.
A few things I don’t look forward to during this time is the dearth of parking spaces throughout the day (I could probably get a spot at most places if I arrive before 4:00 am), the 40 mph speed limit observed by people going around the blind corners in parking lots and the much faster speeds common along lanes where visibility is good as drivers search for any available parking spaces, and the parking lot space stalking that happens when a person walks to their car and are noticed by a driver who then blocks traffic for those of us who don’t mind parking an extra 50 feet away or are trying to leave the parking lot to go somewhere else.
Today, I had a new experience to associate with the holidays. When I was finishing up in the restroom, I heard someone banging on the door and twisting on the handle and then repeating the action as though I hadn’t heard it the first time just a second before. In case you aren’t aware of it, Starbucks has single-person men’s and women’s restrooms; of course, there is the Starbucks in Newport Beach that can hold 29 people, but I digress. If I hadn’t been in the process of washing my hands, that prodding at the door might’ve assisted me in completing my prior actions.
When I left the restroom, I almost ran into the guy who had banged on the door, and I gave him as dirty a look as I could while trying to be somewhat polite (that’s hard to do; try it sometime). His expression showed that he regretted his actions, and he apologized, saying “I’m sorry; someone said a woman had been in the women’s restroom for 15 minutes and hadn’t come out.”
I looked at him like he was crazy. After all, I had been in the men’s restroom, and no one would ever mistake me for a woman; besides, I hadn’t been in the restroom for that long, and even if I had, banging on the door would not prompt me to leave before I completed my business! I thought about asking him if he wanted to help me the next time I used the restroom, but I decided against it, afraid he might agree.
I hope that guy decided to go home and relax after he finished using the restroom; some people just can’t handle Black Friday.
