BLACK FRIDAY, MY FOOT

Ten Wonderful Aspects of the Day After Thanksgiving:

1. Leftover stuffing: Simply the best of all Thanksgiving leftovers, especially reheated in the oven so it gets a little crusty on the outside, then topped with gravy, which is always better on day #2 anyway.
2. Guiltless napping: You broke the seal yesterday when you flopped down on that big, fluffy couch and drooled your way through the second half of the Detroit/Miami game. Today, why pretend? Crack open your bedroom window, get under the covers, and shoot for a two-hour snooze cruise.


Author and youngest daughter illustrate point #2

3. Christmas music becomes ‘legal’: You’ll be sick to death of ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ by December 10th, but for at least the rest of the weekend, all the Christmas music will still sound great to you.
4. Pumpkin pie in abundance: Hey, pumpkins are squashes. Eat your vegetables!
5. Texas/Texas A&M and Colorado/Nebraska: Two rivalry games everybody looks past, even though they’re hardly ever boring. There’s something to be said for Oregon/Oregon State, too. Football is always more interesting when the teams involved genuinely hate each other.
6. Unusually satisfying visits to the smallest room in your house. ‘Nuff said.
7. Not shopping. We finished our Christmas shopping online, in August. What do you mean you can’t find a parking space, and the $20 DVD players are all gone? Hey, have fun spending 23 minutes in the drive-through at Starbucks!
8. Only the second day of a four-day weekend. Not a big deal to me, because I don’t work Fridays anyway.
9. One-day hiatus from partisan political talk-show hatred. Instead, all your Prime Ministers of Snark are ranting today about the nuttiness of shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. Which is strange, because they’re obviously not doing it, seeing as how they’re on the radio and all.
10. The second week of deer camp. It’s the greatest time of year.