Photo by Lars Plougmann
Black Friday, the massive shopping day that follows Thanksgiving, is usually an event full of stories of people’s greed and inhumanity towards one another. In fact, we posted some of the greatest Black Friday tragedies earlier on this blog.
But not all stories of Black Friday are bad. Some are heartwarming tales of human kindness and positive news – and we’re not talking about getting a good deal on a Christmas gift.
Lost Wallet Returned
When Jill Angel’s 14-year-old daughter went shopping on Black Friday with here friends in 2011, she lost her wallet in the midst of the crazy shopping event. She had checked with security, the lost and found, and all the places someone may have turned it in.
The next day, after the family had figured the wallet and the money was gone forever, there was a knock at their door. A man had come with their daughter’s wallet, which he had found on the floor at the mall. Everything was inside.
“Of all the people to pick this up, it was someone so honest. My faith in people has been restored,” Jill told the Perry Hall Patch. “After hearing all these stories of people acting uncivilized at these Black Friday sales, to have something like this happen—I cannot even put into words my gratitude!”
Certainly in the mad rush of shoppers on a day typically associated with violent and selfish greed, someone had gone through the trouble of not just finding the wallet, but delivering it to the Angel family’s home.
Thinking Of Others on Black Friday
Black Friday is not a shopping day for everyone. Some generous folk use their time to benefit the less fortunate.
The Eastern Kentucky chapter of the Brothers of the Wheel Motorcycle club hold an annual roadblock each Black Friday. They collect donations from shoppers outside the Prestonsburg Village shopping center. The donations are used to buy gifts and shoes for children in need.
Fourth-grader Samuel Love of Chicago will go out among the crowds this coming Black Friday to ask for donations to help children affected by the Denver and Oklahoma floods this past summer.
The young man’s charity – and not to mention courage – to ask Chicago-area shoppers to think of others on Black Friday has gotten the attention of toy manufacturers and the media, who have helped his grassroots campaign last year collect over 800 toys.
Finding Love In The Black Friday Line
People spend hours in line to try to get in on the most limited Black Friday deals. Some will camp out and wait days to get the best price. All that time in line with strangers often leads to irritation, but sometimes it leads to love.
MSN reported on the story of a couple whose 7 hours in line together on a cold Black Friday morning in 1991 sparked a relationship. Twenty years later they told their story to the news service, now married with children.
Another romantic story from Black Friday reported by MSN was that of a young woman who was dropped off outside a store on Thanksgiving night 2008 to wait for the traditional Black Friday bargains. The young man ahead of her was wearing a hoodie, and she described him as looking like a bum. Their conversation also blossomed into romance, and in 2010 the young man proposed.
Crazy Love: Black Friday Marriage Proposals
While Black Friday has sparked more than a couple relationships by bringing strangers together, there have also been several marriage proposals reported during the manic Black Friday madness.
In 2008, a man proposed to his girlfriend in the Mall of America. Ali J tells the story of her proposal in 2012 on a busy Black Friday over at The Knot.
Nicholas Simmons proposed to his girlfriend last year in Syracuse NY. Not only did he propose on Black Friday – an event at which they had met on a previous year – she found the ring in her paper sack from Wendy’s when they stopped for lunch. Such a proposal may not be for everyone, but apparently it made her day!
But perhaps the bravest marriage proposal on Black Friday comes from the 2011 story of Aaron Purkiss proposing to Rebekah Snyder in Raleigh, NC. Not only did he propose in a mall, on Black Friday, but his girlfriend was currently working in a store that day!
The event and preparations were captured on camera:
Do you have any great Black Friday stories to share?
