Once a year, my South Hill bicycle shop has a 10 p.m. to midnight sale.

I checked it out for the first time tonight. I'm glad I did.

A fairly diverse group of 50 or 60 people were lined up outside before the doors opened. Everyone, or at least those near me, seemed in good spirits. And once inside, the shoppers conducted themselves in a calm, considerate way.

"Midnight Sanity" was more like it.

It was fun to see so many people in the store. And I guess some of the sale prices were attractive.

But I didn't really sense a buying frenzy. At least a few of the other customers appeared to be doing what I was doing: Looking at accessories and wondering, "Could I use one of those?"

We were all shapes and sizes. And the age range looked to be about 15-70.

But we belonged to the same tribe.

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