Now that we've all had the opportunity to see the televised mayhem of Black Friday, it occurs to me that this is an indication of at least one of the problems persisting here in the land of the free. That otherwise normal adults would stand in line for hours in the dark, and then in many cases actually physically harm strangers in the pursuit of consumer goods seems to indicate a society gone awry. As a staunch anti-shopper, perhaps I miss the point (great deals? savings? the thrill of the hunt? filling empty spiritual voids with electronics? all of the above? none of the above?), but even world class shoppers might be well served to take a moment to re-think the contact sport part. After all, they might one day be the person on the ground being trampled rather than the victorious hero brandishing Barbie version 293 or a plasma screen (okay, I admit flourishing a plasma screen would be challenging). I submit that our shared worlds (wherever they overlap) would be quite different if the shoppers' turnout for sales was duplicated at the polls, for instance. Or maybe the reason for my discontent is that yesterday was the six-month anniversary of the death of my beloved dog Saul. While he may not have been the best dog in the entire world (it's possible; I know other dog lovers who contend theirs is the title-bearer) he was certainly the best in my entire world. And I miss him constantly, no matter what holiday season comes upon me. So I'll close with one of the many Saul shots. By the way, the smile was real, not photoshopped.
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