My mom and I happily joined the masses who clogged up good sidewalk space just for the chance to be awed by such things as the Apple store and H & M [What? You mean you haven't heard of H & M?...Actually, I hadn't either, until yesterday at Thanksgiving when my aunt told me about it and then earlier today when my Happily Married Friend (at least somebody's happy) mentioned it AGAIN. I took it as a sign from God...]. Anyway, we waited in line to discover the splendor of outsourcing at this marvel of low cost and high fashion, H & M, and I came away with two sexy bras (you know you've reached a milestone when your madre is buying you sexy underwear. Either she really loves me, or it's her way of saying "I'm willing to do anything for grandchildren..."). The point is we've all succumbed to a retailer's wet dream on Black Friday (so called because it's when the stores go from the red to the black...).

Just for today, I am a thriving American consumer.