A BLACK FRIDAY REPORT from LawHawk. Plus, another report from Paul Havemann in Northern New Jersey:

Here in north NJ, there seems to be plenty of activity at the Rockaway Mall. The wife and I got there about 9 am (no predawn vigils for us!), and there was, literally, hardly a parking spot to be found. Judging by the stream of shoppers laden with bags, it won’t be a bleak Friday for retailers.

I hope that’s right, though I suppose the deep discounts ensure that it won’t be very profitable even if sales are high. Oh, well. Meanwhile, crowds were big in Knoxville. “Big crowds greeted such retailers as Best Buy, Target and Belk. By 7:30 a.m. the parking lot at West Town Mall was full.” Also, the outlet malls near Dollywood were packed. More here.

UPDATE: Reader Dirk Schulbach writes: “Date line Woodburn, Oregon, 10:45 PM, Thanksgiving evening. Northbound I-5 lined up 1/2 mile before the exit waiting to get off freeway, southbound I-5 a 3 mile backup waiting to get off the freeway. The Woodburn Outlet Mall was opening at 11 PM and the huge parking lot at the mall was filled to capacity and the frontage roads feeding them packed solid in both directions, pretty much gridlocked. And lots of traffic headed south from Portland towards the mall. Worst economy since the 1930’s? I don’t think so. “