PHS Student Reports on Payson's Black Friday

              A slight push from behind, a collision of shopping carts, a weeping woman in the corner, and suddenly, chaos erupts. The aisles of Wal-Mart are jam packed with bargain shoppers of craziness. There is no courtesy. There is no love. It’s the day after Thanksgiving: the first official day of holiday shopping. It’s Black Friday, and this year, I wanted to experience it firsthand.   

            My plan was simple: wake up at 4:15 AM on Black Friday, arrive at Wal-Mart 15 minutes later, and experience the chaos that sends even the most experienced shopper to their knees. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Zac, you’re crazy! You’ll never live!” Don’t worry everyone! I brought along Kari Haskell to document the whole ordeal (See photos!) and to protect me from the cheapest shoppers in Utah County.               We arrived at Wal-Mart at 4:45 AM. The parking lot was unforgiving, and every space was filled. We were forced to park in the dirt lot adjacent to the building. No matter, we remained optimistic. We entered the store and found ourselves surrounded by the masses. Crazy mothers packed with coupons and shopping lists, husbands who were dragged along, and the regular all night shoppers (they were really wondering about all the people at the store).  At the stroke of 5, I expected chaos to ensue. I wanted all of those laptop lovers to come out and become the wild beasts within. My expectations were not fulfilled. Wal-Mart decided to take the less chaotic route this year by handing out wristbands and forming lines of sanity. Everyone seemed somewhat organized. Dang it! I really want to see some fights! Overall though, the store was still pouring with people, and those checkout lines were longer than the Space Mountain line on a hot California day! I guess it was pretty crazy.              In the end, Black Friday was quite an entertaining ordeal to witness. After experiencing the somewhat crazy ordeal at Wal-Mart we continued on to Office Depot in Orem with the Guest family, and after waiting in line for 2 hours, sleeping on some shipping insulation, witnessing some college kid throwing up and eating McDonalds afterwards, Black Friday wasn’t all that bad. It was quite entertaining. If you ever want to see crazy people push and shove for a life size Barbie doll, then head down to Wal-Mart next year. You won’t be disappointed.