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As I reflected on my Thanksgiving this year, I felt lucky to have the chance to spend it with my family. There had been a few years when I was in college that I had been forced to work Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, etc.
I thought of all the people working on Thanksgiving this year, unable to spend the holiday with their families, especially one young lady that I encountered at Walmart the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.
She was a high school student, working at the register. I had held a job as a cashier when I was going through school in Platteville and I had been in her shoes a few times before.
I knew she didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with her family. And it was heartbreaking.
Due to my experiences in retail, there was no Black Friday shopping for this writer, no standing in line for four hours Thanksgiving night to get another TV we don't need. Because of my experiences, I will never shop on Thanksgiving or Black Friday.
Working retail or working in any business that does not recognize the importance of being with family or friends on Thanksgiving, or any holiday that is important to your family for that matter, really changes your perspective on things.
I read an article online recently about a manager at a Pizza Hut who was fired for refusing to open the restaurant on Thanksgiving. When asked to write a resignation letter, the manager instead wrote a letter explaining why he believed the restaurant should be closed and employees given the day off.
"I accept that the refusal to comply with this greedy, immoral request means the end of my tenure with this company," the manager wrote in his letter. "I hope you realize that it is the people at the bottom of the totem pole that make your life possible."