Editorial
Front Page - Monday, December 07, 2009
Capital City Chatter
Rebecca Brockman
It’s not like we really needed anything, when we set out to go shopping on Black Friday two weeks ago. It was more like we wanted to see if could find something we couldn’t live without. After hearing about the stampede last year that killed a store employee, we steered clear of the big box stores until about 11 a.m.
Our first stop was Park Plaza Mall, where we found the crowds heavy, but not fatal. Parish found some really good deals at Dillard’s. He left the store with a grin and a new sweater vest and matching shirt. Actually it was a really big grin, for some reason Parish has been mildly obsessed with sweater vests since last Christmas.
That is all he wanted last year and he received two from both my mom and me. Little did we know we had created a sweater vest monster.
After December last year, he set out to acquire more of the sleeveless wonders and now has six of them. But, I guess it could be worse, he could be obsessed with aliens or can openers. (Not like there is anything wrong with that).
His new vest was on sale for $42 and then 40 percent off of the sale price. Parish also nabbed a matching grey collared shirt that went perfectly with the vest. In total he paid about $36 for both items, hence the big smile.
I have to admit, I was a little jealous of his good fortune, so I set out to find an equally good deal. The 40 percent sign outside of Ann Taylor turned out to be the golden ticket. I left that fabulous store with a new blouse for only $17. Get this - the original price was $50. I think I won the sale battle, but it’s not about winning on Black Friday, it’s about spending. So we pressed on to some other stores where I found a gift for my aunt and a lot of things I would like for myself.
The present I wanted to buy for my parents couldn’t be found at the mall, so we left Park Plaza in a cloud of dust and headed to Best Buy. Although something really cute happened before we left the mall. As we were making our exit, we passed the large Christmas tree where Santa sits waiting to take pictures with little kiddos. Well, when we passed, Santa wasn’t sitting — he was sipping. There he was, with his real white beard and red plush Santa suit, drinking a soda. Both Parish and I took a double take. It looked like a Coca-Cola commercial or something, I giggled. As I snickered, the photographer caught my eye and asked if I wanted my picture taken with Santa. My little giggle turned into an embarrassing laugh and I muttered, “No thank you.” As we walked by the thirsty Santa, I looked back and he gave me a little wave as he took another gulp. I felt like I was 6 years old again! I was actually half tempted to turn around and sit on his knee. I didn’t.
Best Buy and Hobby Lobby were our last stops of the day. By far, Best Buy was the craziest spot we had been all day. It seemed like everyone in Little Rock was there to buy a Mac computer for Christmas.
Our first Black Friday as a married couple was a success and we made some fun memories running around the city with the rest of the country.
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