Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Marsha and I went to our friends Pat and Russell’s house yesterday for thanksgiving. We joined their family in enjoying a terrific feast. It was my first time to try fried turkey. Marc, Pat and Russell’s son, cooked it. By the time we ate dinner, I had already nearly filled up with shrimp. I must have eaten nearly a pound of it! The family has adopted Marsha and me, and we feel right at home at their house. We know the entire family….Son, Daughter, grandchildren, boyfriends, girlfriends, dogs, cats, pet lizards….the whole works…Martha, the daughter who lives in the DC area and is the Web Desk Chief for one of the newspapers, was able to make it as well. Marsha took her knitting, and I read and snoozed in one of their recliners.

This morning I got up at 3:30AM in order to make it to Wally World in time to catch their 5AM to 11AM sale. I knew I was in trouble when I got there before 5 and saw the entire gigantic parking lot filled and all the neighboring stores that were closed had their parking lots filled, also. I circled the parking lot for about 20 minutes or so before I caught someone coming out and waited for their space, resisting the impulse to flip off the idiot behind me that was leaning on his or her horn. (It was too dark to see whether it was a him or a her) The space I got was quite a distance from the store…farther than I usually park because I can’t walk a great distance without getting short of breath….but I finally made it inside the store. The store was jammed with bargain hunters. I was able to get a buggy and joined the procession wending its way through the store. I was after a vacuum cleaner for Martha….a camera for Lahcen, Martha’s SO, who, by the way is a very nice guy from Morocco….a couple of 4 gig flashdrives and an all in one printer for Marsha and me.

It took me about 15 minutes to make my way through the crowd to the vacuum cleaners, but I got one and put it in the cart, after poking some poor lady in the tush with it, for which I apologized profusely. She was very nice about it, though, smiled and told me it was perfectly alright.

I struggled through the store trying to get to the electronic department, bumping people with my cart and getting bumped and pushed and stepped on all the while, and having a harder and harder time breathing. I have learned since being in Pulmonary Rehab for the past few years that being in a crowded space is not at all good for those of us with breathing problems. The crowd exhales so much carbon dioxide that you can’t bring in the oxygen that you need, and so you begin panting and gasping for air.

Even though I had had a breathing treatment before leaving home, I became so short winded that I left the cart with Martha’s vacuum in it in the aisle (The checkout lines stretched from the front of the store all the way to the back of our new Super Wally World) and left the store and returned home without getting anything.

Marsha and I returned a little before 11 and the only things left that we wanted, although Marsha did look longingly at the plasma tvs, was the 4 gig flash drives. We got two.

Martha and Lahcen were quite understanding. They were not upset that I wasn’t able to get their items for them.