This morning I woke up to my cell phone ringing.  It was my neighbor, gathering her posse for Black Friday.

I have to honestly say, I have never shopped a “Black Friday Sale,” never! When I told my neighbor this confession of mine she screamed “what?!” in disbelief.

For the most part, I can not conceive crawling out of bed in the wee early morning hours for any material possession that would still be manufactured after “Black Friday.”  I only have visions of what could transpire on this day while shopping. One can be clawed, pushed and possibly bitched slapped by the sisterhood of bargain shoppin’ babes and busia’s fighting over the last iPod Touch or Blu-ray recorder.  I simply have no yearning for this chaos, no matter how inviting the commercials or ads are.

I have already been scared by women shoppers. Our family owned a bridal boutique for several years. I seen all I needed to see of bargain shoppers in their rarest form. For some man put a diamond on their betrothed’s finger and her head spun around like Linda Blair in the “Exorcist” when entering our bridal boutique looking for the most beautiful bridal gown with all the amenities, a plethora of sequins, pearls and a cathedral train wanting all of this for under $99.00. Out bursts and temper tantrums were a weekly occurrence. We had no Walmart in our town at this time to meet their needs of bargain retail prices. Nor, did we process our pharmaceutical license.

I would like to state,  I am not immune to wanting the best deal on any item I purchase. My first thought, I am giving a shout out to Walmart.  Everything seems to be slightly cheaper at Walmart than Target. Though, I have to say, Target is my favorite department store not to mention Target has a whole different urban feel in their red and tan walls.

There is one major difference next to the comparison of prices if you choose to shop “Black Friday” at Walmart. Inside the walls of Walmart you will be crushed by seemingly side show freaks. I just want to know, where do they ship these people in from? I shop at Goodwill and I do not see the things I see in Walmart.  Just last week, I was amazed to see women shopping in their slippers. These women bless their heart, looked like they did not own a brush or shampoo for that fact. These souls were completely uninhibited walking around looking as if they just rolled out of bed and they did not bother getting dressed to greet the new day! If only I did not give two hoots about anything I may not have hypertension.

If… I did decide to give up my virginal “Black Friday” no shopping stance, out of the all the major department store chains, I would personally pick Kmart to shop.  Why?  Kmart has lay-away. Lay-away is a major plus to middle income families, who do not wish to max out their credit cards. Here in Michigan we have an approximately 15% unemployment rate.  You can paint it, wrap it, present the ads all pretty and such but, many here are broke.

I personally know more people laid off than employed this holiday season.  Large retailers need to consider the unemployment statics not just lower prices for a day. This holiday season may be very daunting not to mention heart breaking for the unemployed. In my view Kmart’s lay-away takes the lead above all the other retailers!  Fill your cart, make your weekly payments, no interest baby, sit back relax, pick out your wrapping paper have a glass of wine and sleep easy!

For entertainment purposes,  Walmart by far leads the way. Bring your camera, or purchase one in the store! According to the “Black Friday” ad, a Kodak C182 12.0 Megapixel Digital Camera  is only  $69.00!

I promise you will not be sorry!