Christmas and that man with the thorns

Adapted with attribution from
"Kabbalah Kronicles 34 by Uncle Zally / Zalman Velvet

"I arrived at the computer store ten minutes before midnight, on the last Thursday in November, hoping to avoid the crowds the following morning, known as Black Friday. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. It's "black" because retailers hope to get out of the 'red' by the enormous volume of sales that day. However, when I arrived at Best Buy, I got a big surprise – there was a line of people in front of the store a kilometre long.

“Oh Great!” I said to myself.

At five minutes to midnight, the front doors were still locked. There was a nasty-looking female security guard waiting behind them, with a taser and a Glock 9 hanging off each hip, an M-16 in one hand, a turkey drumstick in the other. There was a tent right up front, with the line starting behind it. From inside the tent, a young man in his 30’s peeked out. He was unusual looking, with deep blue eyes, long hair, a short beard, and was covered with a sheet.

“Why are there so many people waiting to get in?” I asked him.
“They’re selling iPads, with Wi-Fi / 4G and 128GB of memory, for $39.”
Wow, I thought. The retail price was over $800. I could use one at $39.
“How many are they selling?” I asked, counting the people I could see. There were about two thousand.
“Five.”
“Five?”
“Yes. They announced it November 1st. I’ve been camping here since then.”
I thought, living in a tent outside Best Buy for more than three weeks, in order to save $700 … sounded a little over the top.

“I am going to buy all five, if they let me,” he continued. “I can then re-sell them quickly, and make three thousand dollars. Then I can help a lot of hungry people with $3,000.” Then the young man stepped out of the tent. The sheet was really a robe. On his feet were sandals. Around his head was a crown of thorns.

In his eyes was a special light.
The people on line suddenly became very quiet. It is a very solemn moment when two thousand people grew silent, while they are waiting to nab a $39 iPad.

“What is your name?” I asked.
He did not answer.
“Well, when were you born?” I asked.
I’ll wager most of you can tell me when.
I’ll also wager most of you can tell me why that day is supposed to be important.

And I’ll also wager that no one can explain why standing outside Best Buy waiting for a $39 iPad, after USA Thanksgiving, has anything to do with the birth of the man standing there in a robe, sandals, and a crown of thorns."

Thanks for that reminder Uncle Zally. With gratitude for the man with the thorns.