BLACK Friday

Yes, the day after Thanksgiving. We spend all Thursday with family and thinking of all the things that we are thankful for. 24 hours later, we become a nation of savages as we fight with one another to get get the best deals at the store before our fellow man can get to them first. In Long Island, people really took their holiday greed to the next level:


From yahoo.com

NEW YORK – A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."

Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help the man were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Witnesses said that even as the worker lay on the ground, shoppers streamed into the store, stepping over him.

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."
"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

The 34-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined, and the man's name was not released.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. At least three other people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," said Dan Fogleman, a company spokesman. "At this point, facts are still being assembled and we are working closely with the Nassau County Police as they investigate what occurred."

Shoppers around the country line up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday. It got that name because it has historically been the day when stores broke into profitability for the full year.

It is sickening. It really is. My favorite part is where they ask people to leave because someone has died and they reply that they had been in line all night. Oh, boo fucking hoo on you. Why don't you stay in line then, but the product you were planning on getting, and then give it to the family of the poor guy who was trampled? I am sure that family is going to have a GREAT Christmas now! Unbelievable...

Despite the horror from this story, I am not against Black Friday. I like to look at all the ads the day before and see if there are any can't pass up deals. I have no problem getting up in the early morning if there is something I really want. I don't resort to mob mentality, but it is fun oging out and being done with going from store to store by 9am. I went out this morning and what I found was a sharp contrast from last year. Last year, I stood in lines for 30-45 minutes to buy something. Parking spaces were hard to come by. Crowds were shoulder to shoulder. Today? Not so much. At the few places we bought things, there were 2 or 3 people in front of us in line. Parking was plentiful. You could shop comfortably without running into people. I am sure our economy has NOTHING to do with this change! Yeah, that was sarcasm...

Like a Phoenix

I'm back

the fog has lifted

The earth has shifted

and raised the gifted

You knew I'd be back so pack your bone

And hit the road jack cause daddy's home

In the end, I couldn't do it. I love writing too much, even if it is usually just nonsense. Over the past couple of weeks, I can count numerous times where I thought of something I could post on the blog and then remembered I don't have it any more. Maybe it was the finality of it that opened up my creative juices again. The statement that you don't really know what you got until it is gone it not always just cliche bullshit. Once I took away my outlet for laying out what was on my mind, the world gave me a big "Yeah, right" and started throwing creative ideas out into my world left and right. It has been a tough year for Jess and I for a large variety of reasons and the worst is nowhere near behind us. However, if I just sit and dwell on it instead of expressing myself, it might end up being worse. This past weekend, Jess and I were out to lunch and we saw a child who behaved as if he was just a miniature me. At that moment, I said to myself, "How can I NOT write about this?" I can't just keep this story to myself and Jess and that was it. It was at the moment I knew I was coming back. Thanks for the well wishes in the previous post and no, this was never a ploy to gather sympathy and build my self esteem. 2 weeks ago, I really was done. Now, it is a new beginning...

All good things...

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuess

It is what you are thinking. This is the final post on Manuel's View. I've been thinking about it for a while and every time I thought about it, I convinced myself to stay around for a few more posts. My posts have been fewer and fewer lately, and well, I'm just tired. I was one month short of four years. Four years, man; I don't know whether to laugh or cry. In the end, I've just run out of things to say and the desire to write about whatever nonsense is going on in my life. Will I return someday? Possibly. At this point in time, I think I am done with blogging. I might miss writing, but I have something up my sleeve should I ever have a desire to write again. A few years ago, I came up with a plot for a story that I really liked and I followed it up by writing the first chapter which I ended up loving. But that is at far as it went. Maybe I will pick that up again.

To my fellow bloggers who I have met, I thank you for all your support and feedback. This blog would have closed a lot sooner if many of you hadn't come along and made me feel like my writings were worth something. You guys are all awesome and write beautifully and encourage you to keep up the good work. Thank you to my family and friends for their support by reading daily. Thank you to my wife and Rich for occassionally contributing to the blog. Thank you all. It has been fun, but like the cliche says, all good things must come to an end.

And like that........he's gone......

The costumes!

Well, Saturday we had our Halloween party and if you ask me, the costumes came out great. My sister helped us on Saturday evening with our makeup and stuff and the overall look. Really, no words would do it justice so here are the pictures. Enjoy...