Anthony Hamilton

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, and with it, Black Friday, is approaching as well. For those of us in retail, it’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in the fact that stores generally make more money on this day than any other shopping day of the year, however, it’s a VERY long workday for employees. On my job, at least 12 hours is guaranteed, however I have put in as many as 16 hours on Black Friday in my previous job as Mall Security supervisor.

A lot of people camp out in cold weather for hours, hoping for the chance to get their hands on greatly discounted items either for themselves or Christmas gifts. The whole experience can go bad courtesy of one person not getting what they came early for. It can turn quickly into a mob mentality, and I’ve seen many people hauled off to jail early on that day because they were too late to get what they wanted.

Many participate in the bargain shopping on Black Friday, but are totally unaware of the history behind it. It’s been said that it goes all the way back to slavery, and there is strong documentation that proves it’s true, however, I will concentrate on more recent history in my discussion of Black Friday.

According to blackfridayhistory.com:
The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.
In the 1960s, police in Philadelphia griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it “Black Friday.” In a non-retail sense, it also describes a financial crisis of 1869: a stock market catastrophe set off by gold spectators who tried and failed to corner the gold market, causing the market to collapse and stocks to plummet.
As retailers began to realize they could draw big crowds by discounting prices, Black Friday became the day to shop, even better than those last minute Christmas sales. Some retailers put their items up for sale on the morning of Thanksgiving, or email online specials to consumers days or weeks before the actual event. The most shopped for items are electronics and popular toys, as these may be the most drastically discounted. However, prices are slashed on everything from home furnishings to apparel.

Yes, the holidays are upon us once again, and 2016 is right around the corner.
Remember, also, during the Christmas season, safety becomes paramount. When shopping, make sure that any purchases are stored in the trunk, rather than in view of a potential thief. Attempt to shop in numbers so you don’t appear to be an easy victim. During walks from a store to a vehicle, always stay diligent, a potential criminal is not as likely to attack someone who appears vigilant. Hopefully everyone will be safe, and have a great shopping experience on Black Friday and beyond.

Personally, I am not really looking forward to dealing with the shopping mob. We will be open beginning on Thanksgiving Day, and right back to work early Black Friday morning. If we can have another day with customers on their best behavior like last year that will be great.

Laney Davis

“I had a guy, one time, on the loop. He was riding a motorcycle extremely fast. He was driving at a very high-speed rate, and I was going the opposite way. Of course, my radar got him, and I turned around in the median and went back after him. He was drunk. I don’t know how he got on the motorcycle, much less drove it. I wasn’t even caught up to him. He was going that fast. He slowed down to make that curve, but he didn’t slow down enough.”

Edward Emilia, a middle aged native New Yorker, began his journey serving the United States right out of high school as a Marine. He believed that it was the right thing to do. He had military in his blood. His every life decision came naturally for him. Emilia served for four years and came to Texarkana to go to college where his family was. Texarkana and Texarkana College did not offer the opportunities that he was hoping for, his degree in Architectural Engineering did not work out, and he was struggling to find a job in the area.

At that time he was dating his present day wife, Tina, a Texarkana local. Emilia fortunately found a job working for the prison system down in South Texas. Emilia always has a positive outlook on life and thanks each bump in the road for it. His luck with job hunting and college gave him an inner competition of always staying optimistic and seeing the best in every situation.

He stayed at the prison for three years and even dealt with a national prison riot. Thankfully he was not injured. The ways of military were imbedded in him. Since he grew up around it, it was all he knew. “You come with a sense of duty and wanting to help people,” Emilia says, “They fall hand in hand.”

After his three-year milestone working for the prison, he found a job closer to home working for the city of Texarkana as a police officer. He has served for the city of Texarkana for over 29 years. After all of the crime he has dealt with over the span of his career, Emilia enforces that everyone must stay positive and keep a positive outlook in life, or it will get to you.

Emilia states that his family has been behind him every step of the way, and he could not do it without his wife, Tina, and his two daughters. He and his wife have been married for 30 years. His job working for the prison and for the city kept him away more than he bargained for. While serving the city, he was on the streets for nine years and seven years as a CID and Detective. Over a span of 29 years, he has seen a lot of crime and has had many close calls.

He loves his career path and having the opportunity to change lives. ”He slowed down to make the curve, but he didn’t slow down enough. He actually crashed his bike. Five or six years later, I was in bi state and guy came up to me. He shook my hand and thanked me. He said I had actually saved his life. It was the man who wrecked his bike. He had seen my lights in his mirror and began to slow down. If I wouldn’t have been there he could’ve died if he was going faster. Now he is totally off of alcohol.”

Emilia had decided it was time to retire until he heard about his current job. “When I retire, I don’t want to put another badge back on.” He was very hesitant about working here, but the benefits of Texarkana A&M sold it for him. He is still in culture shock after working as a campus police officer for over a year and a half.

Ed describes himself as a people person. His career path has actually changed his everyday habits and responses. He loves humor and has become more self-aware, open minded, and outgoing toward others.

Emilia loves his job working for Texas A&M. He says most of his job is customer service, and less crime. The first and primary thing is to protect life and property. Texas A&M has a very low crime rate. He gives a lot of advice to students on campus, and states that he always wants students to stay optimistic no matter what they are going through. If he can give some advice that works, that gives him an inner sense of peace. He knows one day a student will come to him with a story that will impact his life, and he is waiting. Emilia plans on retiring in 8 years and after being in the military, working for a prison, and serving for the city of Texarkana, he says this will be a breeze.

“Cops, for the most part — we do our jobs and go home, and we’re not there for the public to give us praise. We don’t thrive on it. Having a positive or negative outlook on life is up to the individual. I don’t let the negative get me down. I went through that period. The negative will eat you up. The positive will end up equaling out.”