What Would YOU do for a TV?

I'm back from Thanksgiving at my

sister-in-law Dorothy's beautiful home.

I love that she decked it out in Christmas.

A great chance to experiment with my new

photo techniques...

practicing NOT using the flash.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, all eyes

were glazed on the TV screen watching football.

(Note: I think piling is in the family gene pool!)

Nobody would look at my camera and the shot

was boring....

Heck with them!

I used the flash.

That is the only picture I took ALL afternoon!

After a lovely dinner, I asked my ten year old niece Crystal

to pose for a photo by the pretty tree.

I guess you can't expect a girl and her dog

to stay still during the slow shutter speed.

I changed the camera settings and tried again.

This time, I swear the shutter stayed open for three dang minutes!

I shook the camera trying to get it to CLICK.

"Kiddies, STOP hanging on each other and one of you

sit in the chair," I pleaded.

Did I ever tell you Lindsay and Mark are Siamese twins?

That's because they aren't...they just always look like they are.

"PLEASE!! Just ONE of you sit in the chair!

 

By now, I was getting pretty blurry-eyed

and was ditching my idea of a  new career in

Christmas portraiture...

Then I got this pretty picture.

Hey, I'm learning!

But, let's focus on this guy:

After driving an hour and a half home from Dorothy's

through wind and sleet,

Sonny announced he and his pal Cody were going over to Target.

They read in the store flier that Target was selling a

40-inch LCD television for $300.

First come, first serve...

doors would open at 4 am on Black Friday.

Cody was layered in coats, hats, boots, and long undies,

with chemical warmers in his socks and gloves.

my son zipped up his hoodie, saying his winter coat was at school.

Any mother can tell you a sweat shirt ain't gonna hold up in

27-degree howling wind for

seven hours in dead-night darkness.

"I'll be fine, Mom," he said, rolling his eyes.

Less than an hour later, Lindsay and I were

cozied up in blankets watching the

Oprah's Favorite Things episode I recorded on Tivo

when the phone rang.

Yep, it was Sonny BEGGING for coats, hats, blankets

lawn chairs and hot chocolate.

I gathered up the woolies.

"If they drink hot chocolate, they'll have to pee," I told Lindsay.

"And, I don't think they want to pee into that wind!"

Lindsay drove the stuff over to them and

noted they were about 25th in line.

Nobody knew how many televisions were

inside that store.

I drifted in and out of sleep all night, worrying about them

as the wind rattled the windows.

I thought of driving over with an ice pick to chisel them off the sidewalk.

At 2:30 am, I called and Sonny was

in the van warming up.

Now, they were working the line in shifts.

I fell sound asleep after that and

didn't awaken until 6:30.

I crept out to the kitchen and found this:

He will have great appreciation for that television for years to come.

He earned the $300 from his summer job,

but earned the TV through incredible endurance.

*aka teenage insanity!*

It's eleven o'clock and he's fast asleep, all snug in his bed.

When he wakes up,

I'll get the rest of the story.

(I hope he didn't fight anyone to get the TV!!!)