We got up at 3:00 this morning to head out to the Best Buy 5:00 a.m. sale. When we arrived, the line stretched about a city block (see photo below) and people had been camping out overnight for more than 9 hours. Needless to say, we didn't get one of the only 10 notebooks they had available for the sale - or any other computer equipment for that matter. But thanks to our friends Clems, Soph & family (they were part of the crazies that stayed out there all night) who had our shopping list, we did get the other items we were interested in.

There are a number of accounts of shoppers frenzy getting the better of some well-meaning people on this first official day of Christmas shopping, a.k.a. Black Friday:

"The holiday shopping season began early today with a 73-year-old Josephine Hoffman being knocked down as a crowd at BrandsMart USA in Sunrise, Florida pushed their way under a metal security gate to get inside, forcing dozens of people against the walls and trampling the woman."

"A bargain notebook computer was the catalyst for trouble at a Wal-Mart in Orlando, Florida, where a man was wrestled to the ground by plain-clothed security guards after cutting in line to buy one. Many customers simply carted their stuff out of the store and passed right by the man in handcuffs, without any reaction."

"A woman was stepped on by several people after she fell when dozens of frenzied shoppers stampeded into a Grand Rapids, Michigan area Wal-Mart store around 5 o'clock this morning. When the rush ended, the woman and a 13-year-old girl suffered minor injuries."

"Extra officers were called to a Renton, Washington Wal-Mart to help control crowds of shoppers who pushed their way into the electronics department shortly after the doors opened. The shoppers even knocked counters out of position as they fought over a limited supply of notebook computers."

So, we're thankful that we were spared from the violence and hope your Black Friday shopping experiences were as productive and hostility-free as ours was!