Black Thursday

Over the next few weeks we have three of what we would consider the “big holidays” in Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Of all the holidays these were the ones in which you could count on the following….just about everyone had the day off, you filled your tank with gas the night before and when you forgot something you just hoped 7-11 had it and was open.

When I say just about everyone had the day off I realize that there are certain professions in which working on holidays comes with the territory. There will always be policeman, doctors and nurses and even those on the radio for whom a holiday does not always mean a day at home. However what I find bothersome is the growing trend in which retail businesses now open on days in which the only cars on the road used to be those on their way to grandma’s house. I’m sure in some cases those that work on these holidays do so by their choice but obviously there are many who are forced to work when they would prefer to be spending time home with their family. Am I alone in finding it somewhat sad that some stores are open on Thanksgiving and especially New Year’s Day and that number will probably grow in an effort to add some dollars to the bottom line? Or is it in fact a case of consumers wanting to be able to shop on these days and retailers just giving them the opportunity they want?

I don’t know but I just liked it when the roads and parking lots were basically empty and you would see a sign like “closed today so our employees can spend time with their families.”

This is a case of how the good old days really were a bit better at times.