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The Death of the True Black Friday
Black Friday — a day once anticipated with bated breath and dedicated deal hunting has gone the way of the dodo.
What was once a treasured tradition of rising at the crack of dawn to wait in endless lines is now as extinct as the VCR.
I remember the good old days when Black Friday actually meant something.
Families bonded over battle tactics to tackle crowded malls and divide and conquer the best deals.
Apprehension and excitement were thick in the air that Thanksgiving evening as we nestled into bed, visions of bargain plunder dancing in our heads. We awoke battle-hungry, donned our comfiest sweats and sturdiest sneakers and geared up for the fight.
Like a slow death, the tradition has withered over the years into a mere shell of its former glory.
Retailers now stretch out “Black Friday deals” over a week, even a month diluting the sense of urgency and excitement. And the deals themselves seem lackluster — a mirage of imagined savings and inflated original prices.
As a seasoned Black Friday veteran, I’ve become wise to these shallow sales disguised as irresistible steals. Fool me once shame on you, fool me for the 10th…