This weekend I went shopping for Black Friday. K-mart opened up their doors on sales early. In fact hours earlier before other stores. While I was in line there was a lady in front of me that was yelling at the clerk because she felt that the vases she was trying to purchase was 17 cents more then they should have been. When it was my turn to check out, I asked the clerk how things were going. We discussed the fact that she was not able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with her family and that the employees who worked in the morning had to come back at midnight.
I couldn't help thinking, "wow, what a sacrifice these individuals are making in order to make a buck."
In made me think, why do we value a buck more then a person? Why is a deal more important then the family that sits around our table during the Holidays? And why do we not appreciate the people behind the counter that are giving up their Thanksgiving in order to earn money to feed their family?
My husband is in retail, fortunately he is in a mall and doesn't have to work on Thanksgiving. I've always thought that if the stores weren't open we would all make other arrangements and do our shopping during the week. Do you remember when all the stores - including grocery stores - were closed on Sundays? I do and somehow we always seemed able to buy what we needed. However, now that they are all open almost always around the clock, I seem to find myself there with the rest of the crowds. I really admire Chik-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby for being closed on Sunday. In fact, that is part of why I am a loyal shopper of both establishments. I only wish I had the willpower to stay out of all the other stores on Sunday and Holidays!!! The one thing we could all do is to be more gracious to the store clerks who, as you said, are only trying to support their families. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!
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