When Black Friday Comes

Since I live within walking distance of a SoCal mall, I dropped by this morning to witness the "Black Friday" orgy of consumerism. I got over there at 9:45 a.m., by which time the initial frenzy appeared to be over. I saw a lot of deals that made me reach for my wallet, then stop and think: "Do I really need this? Does anyone I know really need this? Where would I put it?" One purchase I could not resist: boxed sets of the MONK TV series for about $16 each at Suncoast, marked down from $60 each. I walked away with the first four seasons. (Not that I'm likely to watch them any sooner than our boxed sets of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, or the other DVDs sitting around our collection waiting to be watched . . . .)