Black Friday Tussle

by Melinda Cherry from the November 27, 2023 issue

Tagline: A heartbroken Dana found herself injured amid Black Friday chaos, but she was in for a surprise when she later stumbled upon true love.

Observations: I clearly need a better organizational system. I keep finding my Woman's Worlds out of order! My apologies for this Black Friday story analysis coming so late.

I can't recall ever reading a Black Friday Woman's World story before, so that's refreshingly new. I was surprised to see the extent of the heroine's injuries and that she went to the ER. I think in the past, Woman's World shied away from too much drama or danger, but the new editors are more open to expanding the magazine's range a tad.

This story hit a lot of emotional buttons. Obviously, there was a sense of wistfulness about missing her beloved late husband. We were warmed by how her family rallied around her in her time of need. I had some personal experience with that myself right before Christmas. I went into the hospital with a big kidney stone problem along with a bacterial infection that spread to my blood. During my six-day stay, my family were there, bringing me things from home, including yummy things to eat, keeping me company, and in the case of my sister, giving me a full body massage. I'm a very lucky woman, as is Dana, the heroine of the story.

The last emotion this story highlighted was hope. The security guard proves that he would fit right into Dana's family as a caring and thoughtful man.

Well done, Ms. Cherry!

Photo by browniesfordinner via the Flickr Creative Commons License

Home for the Holidays

by Melinda K. Cherry from the November 28, 2022 issue

Tagline: All alone in the big city for Thanksgiving, Tess fears her day will be a lonely one...until Gordy shows up and gives her a taste of home.

Observations: I felt these two had a good chance of having a happy future with each other. She's a painter and he's an animator, so they're both in the arts. And they both like to volunteer for the community. 

I also really liked all of the backstory about Tess. Her exasperation with her grandmother felt real and made me sympathize. Lastly, I appreciated bringing the story full circle by mentioning the ring-hungry grandma again at the end.

Reality-wise, maybe it's different in other parts of the country, but it's a bit of a stretch for me to believe an out of work animator can get by on a dishwasher's pay.

Photo by Krista via Flickr Creative Commons License