Shoppers line up for Thanksgiving bargains

The temperature was below freezing Thursday evening as Tim and Marya Flynn stood outside Best Buy, waiting their turn to go bargain-hunting.

The 30-degree weather didn't bother the Flynns, who live in Mankato, Minnesota, and were in town visiting relatives for Thanksgiving.

"This feels good," Marya Flynn said. "It's nine below at home. ... Just got 10 inches of snow at home."

The Flynns said they were hoping to find some DVDs on sale for $7 to $15 apiece, and maybe get a good deal on a Kindle Fire, but bargains weren't their primary motivation when they joined the line that snaked around the building.

"It was a chance to get away from the kids for a while," Marya Flynn said.

Best Buy manager Justin Cox waved the Flynns and about 40 other people into the building before stopping the line just as Kevin and Angie Sutterer of Perryville, Missouri, were about to go into the store.

Cox told Sutterer he looks for distinctive features -- such as the bright green logo on Sutterer's hoodie -- when deciding where to stop the crowd moving into the building.

"I have to have a defining marker," said Cox, watching the checkout lanes to determine when to let another group of 40 to 50 shoppers into the building.

Angie Sutterer groaned.

"I knew I came with the wrong guy," she joked.

Her husband laughed.

"I'm all bad luck," he said.

The Sutterers said they were shopping for a laptop.

"Just a good deal," Kevin Sutterer said. "No particular price range."

Patrolman Bobby Newton of the Cape Girardeau Police Department kept an eye on the good-natured crowd.

"So far, it's been good and calm," Newton said. "... It seems like Best Buy's real organized. I really like the way they handle it."

Shoppers kicked off the holiday shopping season Thursday night, coming and going at Hastings, Kmart, Sears, the Shoe Carnival and Staples; lining up outside Macy's and J.C. Penney; and nearly filling the parking lot at Toys R Us.

At Target, a line of customers waiting for the 6 p.m. opening stretched all the way to Staples, six doors down.

Ashley Briscoe of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was visiting family for Thanksgiving, was among the last in line at Target.

Unlike the Flynns, Briscoe wasn't used to the winter weather.

"It's too cold to stand out here," she said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO