First published through The Paris News on Nov. 21, 2016. The article can be found on their website at http://theparisnews.com/opinion/article_0274e3fc-b001-11e6-a00f-93334b984245.html and was backdated.

Black Friday is four days away.

I know a lot of people hate the idea of a holiday filled with commercialization, but I enjoy the chaos that entails.

I’ve worked retail during the Black Friday sales and it wasn’t fun, with the chaos from all of the rambunctious customers who wanted to get a good deal. I’ve worked when there was a fight over dish towels — apparently they were really nice towels. I don’t know, because I never bought or looked at anything other than the movies.

The first year I worked the sales, I didn’t like the idea of people wanting to go shop on a day meant to give thanks. After the first year, it became a game more or less. I would try and see if I could tell what someone was looking for. I don’t know if that comes off as judgmental, but I would see someone in the electronics area wearing, say, a Zelda video game shirt, and I’d immediately assume he was looking for video games or a new console of some sort. And yes, I was wrong quite often. But it made what used to be a miserable night somewhat enjoyable.

Luckily, we celebrate Thanksgiving early in the afternoon, so when night comes, around 6 or 7 p.m., we’re done with our festivities and everyone is ready to go home and relax for the rest of the night. So, I will shop on the holiday, even though I’m not going to buy anything extraordinary. I like movies.

I love watching a movie every now and then. Quite a few movies I’ve watched a dozen times. Who doesn’t love a box of chocolates? Or where’s Johnny?

Quentin Tarantino, the writer and director of, most recently, “The Hateful 8,” said, “I have loved movies as the number one thing in my life so long that I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t.”

The beauty of the Black Friday sales isn’t the chaos, and it’s not the idea of having the next and greatest thing. For me, it’s the prices of the movies dropping

dramatically.

On a previous occasion I bought a movie for $1.50. So a movie that would have been $5, I bought for a fraction of the price.

For the past four years, I’ve bought almost nothing but movies during the Black Friday sales. Of course, there is the occasional Christmas gift that I happened upon, but mostly it’s been movies.

Last year, I went with a couple of friends to a store in Bonham. After I scoured through the movie selection, I was afraid of dropping the handful of movies I carried. I don’t remember the exact number of movies I bought that year, but it was somewhere close to 50. It was a stack.

So, if you’re shopping on Thanksgiving night or day, have fun and be safe.

From a previous retail associate, please be kind and courteous to the employees. They’re there during a time they could be at home with their family to make sure you’re happy.