Black Friday rush gets too crazy

Today’s Sound Off centers on Black Friday.

Dear Heloise: I hate Black Friday. Yes, there are a lot of great sales to lure customers into the various stores, but I still hate the crazy rush and sometimes the fighting that goes on when two or more customers want the one remaining big screen TV.

If you’re lucky enough to find a parking spot, most of us will still have to take a long hike to the mall. Parking is another area where people get so territorial! Last year on Black Friday, I saw two women screaming at one another over who saw the parking space first.

Since Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving, many people also run to the grocery store to replenish their empty shelves with various items. You might think, “Well, thankfully, grocery stores don’t have the Black Friday madness.” But what they often have is a shortage of carts, and usually, they’ve run out of cer- tain things due to the holi- day cooking. My own local grocery store didn’t have a single egg last year or this year after Thanksgiving. I guess “egg mania” hit our town rather hard. I finally managed to trade two rolls of toilet paper for four eggs from a neighbor.

Personally, I’d rather skip the crowd and order online. No parking problems, and no fighting over a toy my kids won’t play with by the first day of summer. I stay home that day and relax. I figure any store that tries to get customers in on Black Friday is hoping they will buy several other items while there, and who can blame them? The post-thanksgiving to Pre-christmas time is the life blood of many retailers. So, best of luck to one and all during this busy holiday season! — Susan B.,

Fast facts

Did you run out of wrap- ping paper? Here are a few ideas as substitutes for wrapping paper:

■ Tie a silk scarf around the package.

■ Use the funny papers.

■ Use a map.

■ Depending on the gift size, use a pillowcase and tie a ribbon around the opening.