Pass on Black Friday at the Mall

We are slowy starting to forget about an American Holiday called Thanksgiving. It's being replaced with great shopping bargains that everyone is looking forward too. Black Friday has made it's way to Thursday with all the Pre Black Friday sales to disrupt quality family time. 

We can shop from our PC, Laptop, Tablet, and Phone. If you must shop do it on the Internet from the comfort of your home staying with your family. There will be many Black Friday bargains online so you do not need to stand in line with crazy people that will run you over to grab sales items. It's dangerous out there. 

Department stores are asking people to work on a day that we should be spending time with family and friends. We need to start to say no to Black Friday promotions at the mall. Send a message to retailers that they are eroding the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Just in the nick of Time

Adventures of a grandpa and his two granddaughters at the time.

Ever wondered what you are capable of doing in 5 seconds. Well in a certain situation it can be an eternity like in the movies The scene is played out in slow motion. It felt like that for me.

I had a situation that required immediate reaction with only 5 seconds to spare. I was helping my daughter at Sam’s Club. My daughter took the elevator with the shopping cart and I took the two rascals on the escalator. The escalator we took is like a conveyor belt on an incline not like the escalators at the shopping malls. I held the hand of my 1 year old granddaughter and let the 3 year old granddaughter walk along the escalator telling her to be careful and don't play around. OK big mistake she ran all the way up the escalator and got off it. I told her just wait there do not go anywhere. I'm almost to the top of the escalator when the 3 year old decides to get back on the escalator to join me and her sister. There were some kids doing that earlier in the day so I told my granddaughter that’s not good to do it's dangerous to jump on an escalator coming toward you. Well I guess she wanted to try it out. My granddaughter slipped and fell on the soft rubber of the escalator, I let go of her 1 year old sister and ran up the escalator to pick her up before she gets caught in the area at the top of the escalator where the rubber goes under the escalator comb plate. I was able to get her up in time and off the escalator to safety. Oh no the 1 year old is flat on her back enjoying the ride. I need to get to her fast to pick her up now with no time to spare and get her off the escalator.

We are all safe. My daughter greets us and we all act like nothing happened. My heart still beating fast, OMG that was a close one.

The moral to the story is escalators are dangerous for little kids.

Lost in the Mall

I remember the day I lost my granddaughter in the mall. She was less than two years old and disappeared in the crowd in seconds. We were looking at dinosaurs exhibits. I briefly took my eye off my granddaughter and she was gone. I assumed she went to her mom and older sister that were nearby. No luck with that so my heart just dropped into my stomach. My daughter and I look at each other in disbelief what happened where did she go? Your life is flashing by you imaging will I ever see her again. I found a security guard nearby and gave my granddaughters description to the guard and he called it in on his walkie talkie.

When you lose a child it is the most horrific feeling in the world. You search the logical area that you think she could have wondered off too. Sometimes the logical is not your best bet. Time seems like an eternity when you are looking for your lost child, your heart is beating fast and you keep thinking that some pedophile has abducted her and fled the mall with her and you will never see her again. You are just going out of your mind, but need to maintain your composure to deal with the situation.

We continued the search by splitting up and searching the areas of the mall she disappeared into with hopes of someone holding her hand looking for her family. I see in the distance a small group of teenage girls holding her hand walking in my direction. I notice my granddaughter is enjoying their company and seems not phased at all being separated from her family. I approach the teenage girls and she comes to me as I thank the girls for taking care of her. 

The moral of the story is never give up and kids can disappear in seconds in a crowded mall.  

The American Thank$giving

America celebrates a great national holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. This day is set aside to give you a day off from work if your employer observes the holiday. Those who have to work might get the holiday as a floating holiday or extra pay.

The intent of the holiday is to reflect on the blessings in your life being thankful for what you have. Spending quality time with family and friends.

The evolving new Thank$giving is becoming the malls and shops are open with bargain sales. I'm not satisfied. I want more more more. Keep my dinner warm I'm out of here mall bound till I drop.

I love sales too. They have this great invention called a website. Buy online at home and send a message to all the greedy retailers making their employees work and disrupting family quality time by tempting people with bargains to leave the house and shop on this special holiday.

I dedicate this blog post to my two special friends that are working overseas faraway from their families. One is in Shanghai doing domestic work and the other is in Kuwait working as a seamstress. They both have no choice because they can't find decent employment in their country to adequately help support their families. They are tough and survivors that will make sacrifices and be abused by employers in these countries with no enforced labor laws. They are the modern day salves.

The next time you leave your place of employment be thankful that you can leave for the day and not have to ask permission to leave. These two women work around the clock and have only time to sleep and then it's back to work. They only get a little time off to do personal business.

Watch your shopping cart

I was shopping at a Sam's Club with my family. We had a cart containing items that will be purchased. The cart also contained some of our personal items that we put in it. I was on cart duty and walked a few feet away from it to look at something and as I turned around to get the cart a guy was trying to walk away with the cart like it was his. I stared at him thinking what is he doing did he confuse my cart with his cart? After the brief stare down he let go of the cart and said "my bad" and disappeared. I realzed at that moment he was after my cart because that was the only cart in the area at the time and he was so bold to try that stunt with my family in the area too.

We lost nothing and reported it to Sam's Club that took the matter seriously. Lesson to the story do not put any personal items in the cart unless you have an eye on it all the time. Thieves are getting bolder these days and nothing is safe now. This can happen anywhere.