DEAR EDITOR:
As a husband of a wife and mother whose job is a retail associate, I must ask, ''What happened to the joy of the holidays?''
Must you greedy retailers and consumers have the precious things you want for Christmas on a holiday? They can't wait until the normalcy of the 9 a.m. shopping?
I speak for all these families who want to stay home and have their precious family time with their loved ones. Holidays are meant to be spent this way! Nowadays both the husband and wife have to work, and the holidays are the only time that they get to spend together. As a retail associate, they understand they at least get Thanksgiving and Christmas off to spend with their families, but now it looks like it is just Christmas.
Is Christmas going to be next?
You see it all the time on the news how on Black Friday people have been killed, injured or in fights on the rush to be the first ones through the doors. These stores only receive a few of the items on the special Black Friday sales. So I must ask, ''Is it really worth someone's life or injury to save a few dollars?''
What happened to society that they have become so greedy? Remember when the stores were closed on Sundays and people attended church? There was no Black Friday and you shopped 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Twelve hours isn't enough for you to get what you need?
Come on, people, you really help these corporate retailers get greedier and greedier by patronizing these stores on holidays and them paying their associates little pay. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful my wife has a job, but where are these corporate and consumers' family values?
O. Ray Callihan
Niles