Fifth Avenue is packed with shoppers of every kind, most of them walking like typical New Yorkers: heads down, avoiding eye contact, at a brisk pace. It's a New York thing. We don't like to even look at strangers, much less talk to them. Once inside a warm Starbucks to update, however, I was forced by circumstance to sit at an already occupied table, and ended up chatting with a Scottish family visiting New York for the holiday– and for the bargains.
By 9:00 AM, Princeton's Best Buy was the picture of calm, compared to the line that wrapped around the corner of the store four hours previously. Ever searching for a dramatic photo opportunity of screaming customers and violent fights, I must admit to being somewhat disappointed. Not even one fracas on Black Friday? What is New Jersey coming to?
This morning I ducked into a Michigan Avenue Starbucks to post a few entries here at Black Friday Watch using the store’s T-Mobile Hotspot.
A guy sitting two seats over chuckles, “You know there may be a few places to shop around here.” Glancing out the window toward the Apple Store I replied, “Oh yeah, this place could use a few more stores.”
Sensing an interview opportunity, I looked the guy over. He was a seemingly normal fellow – middle aged with thick hair graying around the temples. At his feet were half a dozen shopping bags. Bingo, I thought – I’ve stumbled upon my elusive prey, the Black Friday shopper.