Easier Said Than Done

Have you heard, Target is going to start it's Day-After-Thanksgiving Sale on Thanksgiving. Target is not alone. All of the retailers are debating the idea of starting Black Friday on Thanksgiving Night. I think that is sad. Can't we hold back the tide of materialism for a few short hours and let the retail employees Give Thanks without having to rush off to work?

With that in mind, today's "Make Me Smile" award goes to Anthony Hardwick of Omaha, Nebraska. He started a petition on Change.org that has thusfar garnered almost 200,000 signatures. The text of the petition is simple: Push back the opening of retail stores on Black Friday to 5:00 a.m., because a midnight opening robs the hourly and in-store salary workers of time off with their families on Thanksgiving Day.

You see, employees who begin work at 11:00 p.m. will need to sleep at 2pm on Thanksgiving afternoon in order to be rested for their shift. And that essentially ruins the Thanksgiving Feast in a household.

The media has reported that Hardwick was never scheduled to work on Thanksgiving Night; he was never in a position to suffer its effect. That makes his petition even more attractive to me. He could have shrugged off the new, earlier hours, saying, "It doesn't affect me." But Hardwick, who's position at Target is a second job, heard the private concerns of his co-workers who cannot afford to voice their objections, and decided to do something about it.

So ~ Here's to people who step out of their comfort zone in order to make the world a better place. It's easier said than done, we know. Thank you for taking that leap of faith.