Thursday, November 25, 2010

Day 102: Door-busters

Walmart was as you might have expected it on Thanksgiving evening. All hands were on deck. Swarms of employees blanketed the store wearing yellow vests, making them look a bit like a road crew that had come inside. At this point -- at 9 p.m. -- there wasn't much for them to do but stand around and guard the stacks of appliances and electronics that formed towers in the aisles. Shoppers so far were few.

I wove through this traffic on the way to picking up a couple of things for a Thanksgiving meal we were hosting tomorrow. At the cash register, the clerk told me the craziness would start at midnight, when the toys went on sale. The appliances wouldn't be discounted until 5 a.m.

She was friendly, probably 40 years old. She would miss most of the action, getting off before midnight and then coming back to work at 8:30 a.m., after the heaviest of the rush had subsided. But it still was going to be a busy time.

When I asked to say a prayer for her, she quickly agreed. And I bowed my head and prayed. At the start, she kind of chuckled a little, maybe just surprised. I prayed that God would bless her and help her through what was sure to be a busy time at her work. Afterward she thanked me. "I really needed that, especially today," she said.

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