Thanksgiving? Who Cares?

In light of yesterday's Black Friday mad dash to the stores to take advantage of the good deals, 26th Parallel is proud to announce the winner of the first-ever Setting Your Priorities Straight Award.

Janela Tay-Lee of Davie, come on DOWN! You're the winner!

Janela Taylee of Plantation lost out last year on all of the good deals because she arrived at Best Buy at 3:30 a.m. to find a line already stretching around the building. This year she wasn't taking any chances, because stores may have only 10 or less of some key sale items, which makes getting at the front of the line critical.

Taylee organized her whole family into shifts and they started camping out at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Best Buy in Plantation, more than 32 hours before the store's 5 a.m. opening Friday. The benefit: It was early enough to put them first in line.

In order to hold on to the coveted spot, one of Taylee's sons and her cousin had to skip Thanksgiving dinner at her Davie home. Yet, Taylee enjoyed waiting in line because she got to catch up with her family.

''It's nice quality time,'' said Taylee, although she admits finances were the driving force behind the expedition. ``If we were rich, we wouldn't be doing this.''

There's more, courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel:

"We're not rich, so just to save a few extra bucks we decided to do this," said Janela Tay-Lee. Last year, the family was at the back of the line, she said, noting this year they took turns waiting so that they could buy two laptops, a digital camera and other expensive electronics for a bargain price.

They may not be rich, but many families in South Florida and around the country would kill to be able to purchase only one of the items they purchased yesterday, even at heavily discounted prices.

Perhaps I'm the one screwed up here. I mean, what's more important, quality time together with all your family to enjoy a meal, or standing in line just to get 30-50 percent off the latest gadgets?

I don't know who's more screwed up...Taylee, or her relatives for playing along.

Whatever...it's a free country after all. Who am I to judge? But if I hear people like Tay-Lee complaining later about their financial situation and how life is so expensive in South Florida, I would only have one thing to say:

Too bad.