Thanksgiving?

Here in America we celebrate the holiday named Thanksgiving. It is a holiday that is supposed to be a joyful celebration of all that we are so fortunate to have. Our family, our friends, our homes, our jobs and really anything at all which we feel we are truly fortunate to have.

However, what it has turned into for some people is a time of stress and worry. How to pay for the turkey dinner and all the trimmings - how to pay to host the hordes of family who descend upon our homes for the entire weekend, and so forth and so on.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season - and it is called Black Friday since most retailers become profitable for the first time of the year on this day. Black Friday 2008 could give the term new meaning because a Walmart worker was trampled to death by the crowd of shoppers who were reported to be out of control.

I thought this was sad thinking of the employee's family and their grief at their loss - and why? A pointless death it seems. And yet, this person's death holds a huge amount of energy! I've been contemplating it all day. That's worth a lot to me personally, right there - and I didn't even know the guy. Then consider all of the people who would have read that story and stopped to think . . . a pause to consider . . . what is the true meaning of the holiday season? Thousands of people all over would give pause to ponder this question. And hopefully their holidays will be just a little more meaningful this year. And all because of the death of this Walmart employee.

The people who trampled him will most likely never be brought to trial because there were so many of them all acting in a human herd instinct. No one is responsible except for the employee who placed himself at great risk by being the one to open the doors to the mass of people who had been waiting to shop at that Walmart.