I slept very well Thanksgiving night and stayed in bed 30 or 40 minutes later than normal Friday morning, enjoying a day off from work.

Black Friday, of course, is the biggest shopping day of the year. And the following Monday, known as Cyber Monday, supposedly the day online shoppers are offered super deals. I have never participated in Black Friday and have no plans to ever do it.

This year, just like I do every year, I will do my holiday shopping one, two or maybe three days before Christmas.

Being fortunate to have a wife who keeps a sharp eye for what she is looking for year round and handles the gift duties very well, I generally have only to shop for her. I always have a general idea of what I will be shopping for so my Christmas shopping takes one day and lasts no more than three hours, unless I hit a snag. Knowing what I'm looking for and where it should be is the way I roll.

But even if I were a more conventional shopper there is no way I would work myself into the Black Friday or Cyber Monday frenzy mode, which just seems to get more out of control every year.

Sure pholks, in some of my thinking, I'm what is politely referred to as Old School, and maybe not so politely called a stick in the mud or over the hill, or even an old you know what. That doesn't make me a bad person, does it?

Christmas is a sacred and blessed time and an occasion to spread goodwill and happiness around the world.

Getting up at 2 a.m. or staying up all Thanksgiving night to stand in line at some big store with hundreds of other people pushing and shoving and preparing to launch an assault on the store's front doors is a joyless event.

Goodwill and glad tidings are nowhere to be found.

And once the doors are open it's every man, woman, child for him or her self.

With fantastic deals galore and arms, hands, elbows, knees, feet and handbags swinging out of control to gain control and snap them up, it is not a pretty sight. That pholks is not the Holiday Spirit. It is combat. Rules are out the window. Mixed martial arts are for sissies compared to Black Friday shopping.

Admittedly prices are slashed to the bone during such events but there are always good deals just before Dec. 25 and after the big day for those who pass up the Black Friday and Cyber Monday opportunities.

I have never shopped online but I have checked out a few things in preparation for my one-day gift-buying safari.

Don't get me wrong pholks, I do enjoy giving gifts at the holiday and celebrating the spirit of a wonderful event.

Bright lights, great music, wonderful meals, candies, baked goods, family and friends, helping others whenever possible are things to anticipate each year.

Christmas parades, like Visalia's outstanding Candy Cane Lane Parade last Monday, are great events. Special church services are wonderful and the most satisfying for the human spirit. It is a wonderful time of the year for all to share.

All of these thoughts rolled through my mind on Black Friday morning as I enjoyed my wife's outstanding French toast and a glass of V-8 before playing with our doggies, Isabella and Roxie, then doing little more than switching channels in search of news, movies and sports all day.

With my Christmas shopping excursion nearly four week away, I'm pretty well prepared.