Very dark gray Friday

Lyndsay contemplates cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
(Canon Canonet GIII Q17, exposure unrecorded)

I was up at 4:30, not for shopping, but to make coffee and see my daughter off to work. She's lucky enough to have a hospital job that doesn't require nights, weekends, and holidays, but like most employers, her's doesn't recognize Black Friday as a holiday. Not that any of them should, of course, since it's a day devoted to the basest of human desires - low, low discount prices.

My scanner is busy. In the last hour, the local cops settled a dispute over housewares and sheets at the W**Mart. The were called to a possible road rage incident nearby, and some heartless POS stole a purse from a woman in a handicapped cart. The W**Mart is so crowded the police are having a hard time moving around inside.

I too, have to do some shopping. That means I have to get some money from the ATM first, and my credit union is - you guessed it - right near the W**Mart. I don't want to go there. In fact, I'd prefer to avoid the area until sometime in February. Since I have to pass the airport, I'll stop at the maintenance base and use the ATM there instead.

Now there's a dispute going on in lawn and garden. That's where the Christmas stuff is located. I have a perverse hope that it's two shoppers duking it out over a nativity display. I have a taste for irony.

Yesterday's dinner went well, but I forgot to take some photos of the table groaning under the weight of all that food. We had a six pound turkey breast because we gave the big turkey to a woman across the street. That six pounder fed the five of us, and in the evening, Lyndsay loaded up a plate for Mrs. W., one of her former clients from her home health care job. Mrs. W. can't travel, and all her family was out of town. She lives in an assisted living apartment complex. Lyndsay and I visited with her for almost two hours. I have to report that I was yawning and getting sleepy, partly from all that food, and partly from just being tired at the end of a long day.

One other happy moment came after we returned home. Mary discovered a forgotten cache of beer in the garage! I had three bottles of Sam Adam's Winter Lager out there. Okay, okay, my excitement threshold is fairly low when it comes to beer, but after that dinner I was really looking forward to a glass of beer. I thought I was out, and there wouldn't be a chance to get more until Friday. Sure, the grocery store was open. I could buy beer there, but if I'm going to pay the same price, why not get good beer from the liquor store?

Now there's a call about a suspicious vehicle driving slowly through one of the neighborhoods. It's stopping in front of houses, then moving on. It would be a perfect time to do some home burglaries as many people are out shopping already.

The eastern horizon is brightening. Jordan's alarm just went off. He has to be at work this morning too. This is kinda nice - watching my kids go off to work while I sip coffee!

I'll post this, then make some breakfast to power Jordan through his morning. Afterward, I'll leave for Tulsa and my very own shopping adventure. Fun, fun, fun.