After emerging from a food coma Thursday, I was assigned to shoot shoppers tearing through the aisles at Toys “R” Us in Santa Rosa.  In years past, it was a different story.  Black Friday started on FRIDAY and usually started around eight in the morning.  In fact, I’m not sure when the term Black Friday was coined but I do know that it’s much more difficult to fall out of bed at midnight to photograph the event.  Hence, everybody is opening on Thanksgiving Day now, which makes it easier to cover.  As a newspaper, we’re not 24 hours late on the story like before, we actually have a shopping picture on Black Friday.  In essence, we hit the news cycle perfectly. Still with me?

-Black Friday starts on Thursday now.

-Do we call Thursday Pre-Black Friday or gastrointestinal Thursday?  Just Sayin’.

-As a shopper do you soiree shop all-night Thursday and pass out around 1am Black Friday, thus missing a good portion of the event?

Hmm.

Meanwhile back at Toy’s “R” Us last night, people arrived early to stand in line. A good portion of shoppers had that glassy eyed food overdose look about them and more than quite a few had their heads buried in their PICD’s (Personal Interconnected Communication Devices). Everyone for the most part was pretty friendly, no riots broke out for the first in line.  The managers of the store let 50 in at a time, relegating the chaos to a more manageable type of controlled chaos.

What’s photographically on tap for me today?  Black Friday.

18 year-old Jessica Walsh of Santa Rosa, was about 30th in line as she waits for Toys 'R' Us to open at 8pm on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 22, 2012 in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012

The daughter-mother team of Leslie Savage, left and Joan Sutcliffe, right made the trip from Ukiah to shop at Toy's 'R' Us, on Thanksgiving night in Santa Rosa, Nov. 22, 2012. The two have been making the trip for 15 years to Santa Rosa to shop for deals after Thanksgiving. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012

Shoppers wait in line outside Toys 'R' Us in Santa Rosa, Thursday Nov. 22, 2012 in search of after Thanksgiving deals. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012

Night falls on Toys 'R' Us in Santa Rosa, Thursday Nov. 22, 2012 i as people arrived early to find after Thanksgiving deals. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012

Enrique Salazar, left and Gloria Lopez pulled up their SUV and waited in line with style outside Toys 'R' Us in Santa Rosa, Thursday Nov. 22, 2012 in search of after Thanksgiving deals. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012

It was controlled chaos at Toys 'R' Us in Santa Rosa, Thursday Nov. 22, 2012 in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012

The link to the photo gallery is here.

-Kent Porter