Black Friday 2012: Strange Things You Saw While Shopping

Black Friday is a day for doorbusters, discounts and lines—oh, the lines.

Shoppers of the Southland descended upon Orland Park, as the mecca of shopping and home to Orland Square Mall, Best Buy, Target and big names in retail.

Patch hit the streets—and the lines—Thanksgiving night and Black Friday to chat with shoppers about their tales from the retail frenzy. 

Some, like Nicole Harris, filed into line outside Best Buy as early as 11 p.m. Thanksgiving night, with hopes of an encounter with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Harris sacrificed the comfort of her own bed in the name of shopping. 

"We camped out last night in our tent, but we weren't the first ones here, which was kind of a surprise," Harris said.

Those in line alongside Harris might have thought they were seeing things when they spotted a cow in their midst, but nope, that was just another eager shopper. 

“We brought our cow costume for fun and it's probably the best thing we've seen so far," said Wale Alhusein, of Oak Lawn. "He's from 'farmland,' so this is a new experience for him.”

Some had relatively uneventful shopping experiences, but mostly because they purposely tried to dodge the heaviest surges of shoppers.

“We haven't really seen anything too crazy today, I guess because we got here kind of late at 10 a.m.," said Brad Davis. "We didn't want to stand in any of the lines or anything like that.”

And then there was the woman in the fountain. 

Pants rolled up, shoes and socks tossed to the side, she waded into a fountain inside Orland Square Mall. As security zeroed in on the woman, she explained she simply hopped in to fetch her cell phone, which was tossed in by a 4- or 5-year-old family member. 

What did you see out on the shopping scene on Thanksgiving or Black Friday? Share your story with Patch!