You know, sometimes holidays are more trouble than they are worth.

It’s not that I don’t love holidays, because I do. I adore spending quality time with my family and enjoying delicacies that only come around once a year.

It’s just that I hate all the hard work it takes to get that one day off.

In the newspaper world, we work a day ahead. So that means as you read this paper on Wednesday, it was actually created Tuesday. As a side note, someone once accused The Star-News of plagiarizing the local radio station’s news broadcasts. I said that was true, it would actually, technically, make me a psychic, not a plagiarist.

Any way, when one throws a holiday into the newspaper making process, it makes things a giant exercise in time management. You see, not only does the staff have to generate content for tomorrow’s edition, but one also has to generate content for the following day. Why? Because we want to spend the holiday with our family just like you do.

One of this week’s biggest projects has been the upcoming Gift Guide section, which is basically like a third newspaper.

Oh, how we toil for your reading pleasure! I tell myself, it could be worse. I could work retail. Those are the poor folks I feel sorry for.

One recent interview with the folks at JCPenney said the store would be open for 25 hours straight for the Black Friday shopping event. Can you believe that?

And what about those poor people at Walmart? For them, Thanksgiving means one thing – Black Friday. They’ve been working for weeks to ready for the big event. Over the weekend, I saw tape-made numbers on the floor and maps on how to get to that must-have item.

Most people would say that shopping on Black Friday is a crazy idea

Ora and I did Black Friday at Walmart last year. It was kind of fun, but hey, I was the one shopping. I wasn’t the clerk being accosted for the $10 Monster High doll and a $25 sheet set.

The best thing I saw was police tackle a man for trying to steal a camera. And I do mean tackle. It was knees and elbows and handcuffs. It was great. The only bad thing was that I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo for the paper.

I hear that the press crew from here is staging a hurrah to the big box store. I can’t wait to hear the story of their expedition. Maybe they’ll see someone get arrested, and then we’ll have some news for the Saturday paper.