X-mas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving

We as many of you may have, looked through the newspaper ads with awesome deals on some of the things my kids wanted. So I decided to enter the experience of the 6 am day after Thanksgiving shopper trying to get the coveted deals "while supplies last." My alarm went off at 5:30am and I showered. First mistake: No one else "wasted" time showering and they beat me to the stores by 30 minutes. I then grabbed a banana and a bottle of water and headed for Shopko which was supposed to have a couple of games my kids wanted for about $10 less than their normal price. As I drove out of my neighborhood I only spotted one other car on the road. "Oh this is gonna be sweet!" I thought as I dreamed of walking out of the empty store with all the deals and having only spent $20. As I got to 144th St and Industrial Road the traffic had definetly thickened up a bit. "Well maybe I'll have to share a bit" I thought. As I pulled into Shopko's parking lot I was in AWE! It was full all the way to the back of the lot and cars were parked along the periphery of the lot along the grass. I quickly found a parking space though left by one of the unshowered ones. I made my way into the store and was confornted by a wall of people with shopping carts overfilled! Every cash register had lines with at least 20 people in them. I made my way through the crowd and back to the toy department. One particular deal in the board game aisle had drawn me here so I found that aisle only to find the space where the game should be sitting empty. It was only 6 am, but I had been beat to the punch. I started to quickly move for the front door of the store but before I got there I came to the realization that the same fate would meet me at the door of the other stores I had marked to hit at this late hour! And then there was HOPE. On a shelf near the front of the store had been laid by some other overwhelmed shopper who had given up the very game I had come for. As I picked it up I made my way back toward the toy department. If I was going to wait in these lines I might as well make the wait worth while by picking up a few more regularly priced items. Second mistake THIS IS HOW THEY GET YOU! They draw you in with the lure of a great deal and then in the dispair of the long line trick you into buying the rest of their stock which is actually marked up from the regular discount prices. I found a few and made my way toward the cash registers. All the lines were equally long so I just picked one. And I waited for 20 minutes to make my way to the front. It was kind of funny after all this effort I got one deal and 2 other items at regular price, no discount at all. The longer we waited in line you could see pre-buyer's remorse all ready setting in as people set items they realized they didn't really want that bad on the shelves and hanging racks that our line wound through.
I don't know if I'll do this again. I could feel the life draining right out through my feet as I waited in line at the cash register, but it was fun to get to expereince another of America's great traditions.