AUBURN — It was Jacob Folce’s first time at the Black Friday scene and he really didn’t know what he was doing.

“I waited for seven hours,” he said at five minutes past midnight. “I just followed everybody else along. I had a map of the store and that was definitely helpful.”

You can say that again. Just minutes after Folce entered Wal-Mart in a mad wave of more experienced shoppers, he left the store with a 50-inch television — this year’s must-have item — rising out of his shopping cart.

Folce was beaming. “Worth it,” he said. “Definitely worth it.”

The 50-inch HDTV was the brass ring for most who swarmed the superstore. There were so many of them being carried through the aisles, they looked like shark fins floating across a frenzied ocean. Just five minutes after the doors opened, a trio burst through the exits with three of them.

“For the man cave!” said a man pushing a cart containing one of the coveted TVs.

You could understand his exuberance – they were, after all, purchased for just $218 each.

AUBURN — Before exuberance, there was waiting. Cold and waiting and then waiting some more. One woman showed up just after 1 p.m. and took her place at the front of the line. She watched as dozens trickled into the Wal-Mart parking lot over the ensuing hours. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.

Her name is Carol Taylor and she saw some strange things during her 10-plus-hour wait.

“One man came by hoping that Wal-Mart was open because he had burned his turkey,” Taylor said. “He said his wife was very upset. I told him, ‘Well, she’s going to stay upset because the store isn’t open yet.'”

She also witnessed the pleasing side of human nature, something you don’t expect to see during this no-holds-barred Super Bowl of shopping. Like the Wal-Mart manager who brought her a cup of coffee. And the good people of Tim Hortons and J&S Oil who allowed shoppers to use their bathrooms during their long waits.

Like Taylor herself, for that matter.

“There was one lady who came, but she couldn’t handle the cold,” Taylor said. “We talked and I took her number. I’m going to pick up the things she needed here and I’ll call her in the morning so I can get them to her. I’m doing that for three different people this year.”

Taylor saw more acts of kindness than pushing, shoving and greed this year.

“There are some people here,” Taylor said, “who really have the Christmas spirit.”

And plenty of people, no doubt, who just wanted the goods.

“An iPad Mini,” said Deb McCue. “That’s what I want.”

Wanted it real bad, too, considering she’d been in line nearly as long as Taylor.

“People tell me I’m insane for doing this,” McCue said. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”

By the time midnight was actually in sight, the temperature had dropped into the low 20s. It wasn’t as cold as last year, but it was cold enough to be uncomfortable. McCue and Taylor had plenty of tips for staying warm.

“We’ve got hand-warmers in our gloves and shoes,” Taylor offered. “We dress in layers. I started out with tights and leggings. A little later, I put on jeans and then a sweater.”

Solid advice. Unfortunately, not everyone was privy to those tricks and tips.

One woman arrived at Wal-Mart just after 11 p.m. She and her husband made the long walk to the end of a line that stretched all the way to the doors of Lowe’s. They took their place and waited, sipping coffee and looking around. The woman shuffled from one foot to the other, trying to stay warm. She clutched her cup of coffee and tried to breathe in its warmth. She was there three minutes and the end of her nose was already bright red.

“Nope,” she declared as the fourth minute approached. “This is not for me. I’m going to wait in the car.”

Her husband dutifully followed her back across the lot.

Fifty feet away, roughly in the midpoint of the line, Nya Burgess stood in line with her mother. They came from Fairfield to pick up a few odds and ends at bargain prices. Nothing heavy. Shopping on Black Friday is more about the experience than the plunder. They were taking it easy, having a good time.

“It’s a tradition, that’s all,” Burgess said. “We’re not out for blood. Although, it IS fun to watch the people who are.”

Katye Vachon, Nya’s mom, laughed a bit at that. “We’re thrill seekers,” she said.

They were about as laid back as it gets on Black Friday, but there was also the mission. Burgess said she likes to buy basic items — towels and sheets, for example — at marked-down prices. But they had at least one big-ticket item on their shopping list.

“We bought a bigger camper,” Vachon said, “so now we need a bigger TV for it.”

The pair said they expect to be shopping until 5 or 6 in the morning at least. Why not, right? If you brave the cold and the hours, you’ve got to make it count. Politely, of course.

“I don’t plan to get trampled,” Burgess said. “And I won’t trample anyone else.”

Domino’s delivered pizzas and lava cakes. Wal-Mart security workers prowled the front of the store, keeping an eye on things. Inside, several Auburn police officers waited in case of big-time trouble. But it was mostly orderly. This year, they put up metal barricades to help combat line-cutters. According to Taylor, it helped quite a bit.

There were robust lines at Kohl’s and at Best Buy, too, but there’s nothing quite like Black Friday at Wal-Mart. When 11:45 p.m. rolled around, a rumble went through the lines on each side of the store. Excitement was building.

At the edge of the parking lot, near the front of the store, an older couple from Wales stopped to take it all in.

“Just amazing,” said the man as he surveyed the crowd. “We live out in the country. This is all new to me.”

The only thing he ever stood in line for, he said, was a generator, but that was back during the ice storm of 1998. So what drew him to Wal-Mart in the middle of a frigid night?

The big TVs, of course. The price was just too good to pass up. But would they actually brave that crowd to get one?

It was midnight and the doors opened. When it happened, it was all very fast. The stream of bodies rushing through the doors began and it never slowed or faltered.

“Welcome, welcome,” cried a Wal-Mart manager named Nicholas. “Carts are in produce and the heat is on, I promise. Nice and slow, please. Welcome, welcome!”

In a matter of 10 minutes, the people at the end of the line were entering the store and suddenly, anyone could go inside and partake in the once-a-year savings that are so hard to pass up.

The older couple from Wales watched it happen, shivering in the cold and marveling at the humanity around them.

“This was a dumb … idea,” the lady said. But then she surged toward the store and her husband apprehensively followed.

#SJBlackFriday

Sun Journal staff are out with the shoppers on Black Friday. You can share your shopping experiences with us at:

Twitter: @SunJournal

Facebook:  Facebook.com/SunJournal

Instagram: Instagram.com/SunJournal

Email: blackfriday@sunjournal

We also will look for social media posts using the #SJBlackFriday hashtag. We will publish interesting reports and photos on SunJournal.com.

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