Quiet, Black Friday and free parking

by Lindsay Nelson

If it were summer, there would be crickets chirping, but since they’re all buried for the winter, all is truly silent. It’s that quietest of quiet days in Durango, Thanksgiving Day, when people tend to stay home, eat a ton, watch some dudes in tights toss a pigskin around and gear up for the Christmas blitz. You probably won’t even get this paper until Friday or later, although the intrepid Telegraph staffers have been out all morning delivering it, even though it’s a holiday. Like health-care workers, police and firefighters, the press never gets a day off. And, of course, if you work in retail, you will probably spend the day or the night getting the store ready for “doorbusters” and insane credit-card-wielding moms prepared to fight over $10 sweaters at 5 a.m. For that, you have my condolences. But the rest of us are content to wait another day, maybe even two days, before venturing back out into the world of commerce and customer service.

It’s weeks like this that make my job tough – as of press time, there seemed to be not a single live music event (except for some of your weekly regulars at local bars), nor a dance or theater performance – heck, not even a new film opening. If I ran a bar or pool hall or house of ill repute, I would make it a point to be open extra early and extra late, and offer cheap drinks and loud music to salve the abraded nerves of the legions who’ve been saddled with semi-unwelcome out-of-town visitors this weekend. After three days of tolerating your sister’s bratty kids and Aunt Thelma’s odd smell and constant harping – not to mention Great Uncle Earle and his drunken harangues – you will be in dire need of an escape route. The bars are still open this weekend, a safe place to gather with equally desperate hosts.

It’s at this time of year as well that some of us ponder the philosophical question: why do we have to buy expensive and largely unnecessary gifts for people who already have more than they need, simply out of a sense of social obligation? And furthermore, given all the poverty and suffering around us, how can we justify it? My answer to that question lies somewhere in the spirit of giving. If your purchase and presentation of half a dozen gift cards to your family and friends is imbued with the spirit of your love and concern for them, then that’s just dandy. If you’d rather show your affection by hand-knitting some nice fingerless mittens for your pals, then that is what you should do. The point is, how much time and money you spend on presents is not where it’s at – it’s in somehow showing the people you love that you love them, and giving them something to remember you by. Just watch out for lead paint and dangerous levels of mercury and formaldehyde in your dollar-store purchases. (Yes, there is a dollar store here now). And don’t forget to be charitable to those you don’t know – help the soup kitchen, food bank or a Christmas-gift program for local families.

There is a sort of nonevent related to this issue, happening tomorrow on Black Friday. Apropos as it may seem, Black Friday does not represent (per se) a day that is depressing and bleak (although coming off that sugar/booze high from Thursday can do that to you); no, the black comes in the form of ink on the ledger, as in “we made a crapload of money on Friday.” Well, believe it or not, some people aren’t in favor of booming consumer trade. Those people have created a counter movement called “Buy Nothing Day,” which conveniently also falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving. So the choice is yours, potential shopper: You can conform in the conventional way by hitting all the sales and getting an early start on Christmas shopping, or you can be an alterna-conformer and join the Culture Jammers Network in proudly not buying stuff. Or you could just be poor and not have to worry about choosing at all.

Here’s something you don’t hear often – free parking! For the next four days, you can save those dimes for a rainy day because the City of Durango is graciously making all meter parking free from now until Sunday. It’s the City’s way of saying “thanks for coming downtown! Just don’t stop by City Hall because we are enjoying a bonus post-Thanksgiving holiday.” It seems a fair trade, don’t you think?

In my opinion, books and CDs are always a good gift choice, provided you know your recipient’s taste. If you don’t, it’s best just to leave the choosing to them. Nothing worse than getting Celine Dion’s new release when what you really wanted was blues mastermind Dion’s latest CD. Details, people – details! My wishlist is available upon request and features a variety of items for every budget.

lindsay_damico@yahoo.com