A couple of years ago I went into Wal-mart on Thanksgiving night, must have been around 8:30 or 9 PM because I was on my way home from my mom and dad's. My mom had invited a friend whose son lives out of state, and she had massive amount of cologne on. I was having a histamine reaction from her fragrance and I knew I had no Benadryl in the house, so I figured I would quickly shoot in to Wal-Mart to pick it up.

What I saw floored me - sections of the store were roped off for several electronic items that would be going on sale early the next morning. Area #1 was a TV, #2 a DVD player, #3 a gaming system- you get the idea. Each area had a line of people waiting and there were rules posted with line etiquette - addressing things like eating, getting out of line to use the washroom, children waiting in line must be accompanied by someone over eighteen years old, no sleeping on the floors, clothes or blankets must be paid for before you can use them while you wait on line. The items were available for purchase at that time but at higher prices. I was stunned. So I found what I needed and scooted right out of there.

I did go to Target on Black Friday one year, just to say I had done so. I've got an appointment on Friday, so I'll be out, but I don't think I'll be shopping. Small Business Saturday is this weekend so I will try to support a couple of favorite local stores. And I will do the weekly Petsmart run on Saturday for food and cat litter.

So no, I'm not a fan of the big shopping weekend.