Michael Gotshall loads a Christmas tree into the trunk of his car at the Navy Exchange in Naples, Italy. The live tree, which still has roots attached, will last for years, he said. The exchange sold about 15 trees by early Friday afternoon. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
The security guard’s warning said it all: “Good luck finding a parking space.”
The holiday rush hit the Naples, Italy, Navy exchange and commissary complex Friday on what is traditionally America’s busiest shopping day of the year: the day after Thanksgiving.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jose DeJesus and his wife, Wanda, said they were willingly fighting the crowds for the exchange’s advertised sales.
They had lunch at the crowded food court before making their way to look for Christmas gifts.
They expect to spend about $500 for “seven or eight people, mostly kids,” he said.
“We’ve gotta buy me a gift and her a gift,” he said, nodding across the table to his wife.
“I’m easy, I’m low budget,” he said.
But what about Wanda?
Shaking her head side to side she explained: “No, I want diamonds.”
Chief Petty Officer John Musser just wanted a telephone and a movie.
“My phone broke and I wanted a DVD to watch over the weekend,” he said. “I walked in the exchange and rapidly left because of the crowds.”
“I thought ‘there must be a sale today,’” he said. “I forgot it was the day after Thanksgiving. That would explain why there are all these people here.”
Musser did get his phone and DVD, even after an initial unsuccessful hunt through the base electronics department.
Michael Gotshall got a Christmas tree at the exchange’s outdoor plant-and-flower shop.
“I wanted something that has roots … so we don’t have to kill it,” he said, loading the 7-foot tree into the back of his car.
Plant store saleswoman Mercedes Eged said they had sold about 15 trees by Friday afternoon, and had received them only a few days earlier.
Finishing a late fast-food lunch, Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos Garcia, his wife, Gina, and three of their four children prepared to leave the exchange after a successful shopping day.
“It was a little bit of everyday shopping and Christmas shopping,” he said. “It just so happened we needed to come here today.”
Next to their table was a cart bulging with white Navy Exchange bags. Despite the crowds, they said, everything went smoothly, except for one thing.
“Our only problem was parking,” he said.
They had been warned.
