Thanksgiving Friday

One of the worst things to come out of Hubby Tony's broken ankle accident was that we had to cancel our  trip to California to see the kids and grandkids. Then I put plans for Thanksgiving on hold because we didn't know exactly when his surgery would happen. In the end we had a very low-key Day After Surgery day. The main dish was a 'Bob's Barbecue' brand smoked turkey breast from a local grocery store. It was accompanied by boxed stuffing, twice-baked sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, and apple pie gifted to us by the Realtors we worked with when we sold the house/bought the condo.

Tony spent the day on the couch with his leg elevated except when Son Donald came over for dinner. After we ate we played a game of Rummikub. Even though the meal was easy to put together I was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch before it was time to go to bed.

Today was also low key. I try to stay away from stores on Black Friday, but in the morning I did a produce run and found out that grocery stores are a great place to shop the day after Thanksgiving. Mid afternoon I decided to go out for a walk, but wanted some type of purpose. I decided it would be interesting to head to the mall that's a fifteen minute stroll away.

Back when I worked at a mall Customer Service desk Black Friday morning was beyond crazy, but things died down a bit as the day went on. Without a car I wouldn't have to navigate the parking garage, and without a plan to buy anything I could do some great people watching.

I figured traffic turning into the mall would be heavy, but the gridlock I encountered surprised me. Then I noticed that there was some type of disturbance on the main road about a quarter of a mile away. I saw a patrol car with its lights on and a large group of people parading across the intersection. There were so many people the cars headed north couldn't go anywhere, and neither could the cars trying to exit the mall. When I reached the mall entrance there was a man waiting for the light to change. I asked him if he knew what the commotion was. He said he believed it was a pro-Palestine demonstration.

After the excitement outside, the inside of the mall was anticlimactic. I made one loop, then headed back home. As I exited the mall there was no sign of the earlier excitement.

Five years ago: Some liked it. Some left it.