Don't you?

I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving, the so-called Black Friday, and you'd think I'd come back with funny stories about the frenzy and how mean-spirited everyone was as they frantically shopped for the latest toy or electronics. But it didn't go down like that. It was busy, wall-to-wall people, and I'm sure some of them were inches from going postal, but the folks I saw smiled, spoke to each other, and generally acted like adults. The sales clerks were tired, but holding their own, with a couple at different stores telling me that they were having a good time.

So no funny and/or frustrating stories about Black Friday. I've got a theory about why people were behaving: I think we'll all just grateful to make it through the year. The bad economy, the constant bad news from Iraq, the continuing climate crisis, H1N1, high food and gas prices, etc. We've taken a beating this year. It's no surprise that we want a break, that we're seeking a moment in calm in the on-going storm.

A lot of movies show people acting their worst in a crisis, but I've seen people rise to their best in bad situations. We have enough empathy to reach out. Sure, things go wrong -- the conmen and charlatans come out to prey on victims -- but somehow we muddle through by picking each other up, and by doing so, we take another step forward.

We're a strange species, we are, but overall, we're doing okay. We have a lot of problems to solve, but we're the best and brightest creatures this planet has ever seen. I think we're going to make it as long as we keep trying. Don't you?

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