Can you imagine the nutbars who are ready to break down the doors at Kohls at 4 A.M.? I long ago swore off shopping the day after Thanksgiving. The deals are not worth the hassle, the crowds, or the homicidal tendencies.

Mmmmm, caramel, chocolate, sea salt.

I'm so surprised that Andrea and Jane aren't the kind of people who would wait in line, enjoy the social experience of waiting in line, and then run gleefully and savagely through the consumer shopping labyrinth at four in the morning. That so seems like you two!

I can see how the DMV or Jerry Springer thing would be a close match, though. I mean, how great is the director's commentary on the Season 9 Jerry Springer DVD?

Ouch, I think I just sprained my sarcasm muscle.

If this is the same Trader Joe's location I'm thinking of, uh, Tracy and I went there and I think we have decided to avoid it like the plague. It is jam-packed with people who have their noses upturned, and will push their carts INTO your way if they think you're going to stop and look at something. It was a dreadful experience. Maybe it's just a novelty, but I think not. Not by the sight of the average person in there. To make matters worse, these people seem to be there from open to close, any day, every day.

We did the crack of dawn thing once. For some limited edition Gameboys at Toys R Us. They ran out of the ones they had at the service desk, so I wove my way to the other side of the store while Tracy was blocked by shopping carts that were doubling as battering rams. They had aligned the shelves into a labyrinth just to sprinkle a little more hell onto the experience. We got the Gameboys and vowed "Never Again."

Best Buy's got some nice deals this year though. And they'll let me sleep in another hour. Which, including trip time and getting a spot in line, probably means I'd be setting the alarm for 2 in the morning instead of the 1:00 am for Kohl's.

I'm still waiting for a store to announce they're opening at three, another at midnight, and Wal-Mart to declare they're just going to stay open Thursday through Sunday.

Mike: That sounds like the Whole Foods up the road from me. The only thing that saves it is that I can walk to it whenever I feel like it and thus avoid getting run over by all the large SUVs in the parking lot.

I bet they all live within walking distance from the store too.

Mike: was that the Trader Joes in St. Louis Park? I have a feeling that the one you've gone to just opened, which tends to increase the craziness factor considerably. The one in St. Louis Park has been open for quite a while there and I think (hope!) that it's not so crazy-making.

No the one we went to was Woodbury's. And to answer Jane, the closest houses are starter townhomes.

Ooo, Pepin! Where Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family went to the general store?

Yes, indeed!

Also, if you're a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis will be staging the world premier of the Little House on the Prairie musical. http://www.guthrietheater.org/media_room/releases/little_house_on_the_prairie

I may have to go to this.