The day after Thanksgiving, it was predicted “by experts” that holiday sales would be down this year. The experts were wrong – again. Black Friday sales were up, way up. 8.3% to $10.3 billion. My mind won’t even try to picture that much moola being spent in one day shopping, though other people I know have no trouble imagining it at all. “It’s just a few more trips out to the Yukon to load packages in the back.”

I did have a pretty good idea of what was going on, driving by the 67^th Street Wal-Mart on the West end and then by Central Mall downtown, you couldn’t help but notice that the parking lots were full – before the Sun was up.

Friday night saw a good turnout for the first Holiday in the Park lighting ceremony. Families can drive through the park and see nearly 50 displays each evening until Jan. 5.

Lawton is looking more and more like a mighty fine place to settle. Good thing, because lots of new families are headed this way over the next couple of years, courtesy of Fort Sill. Depending upon which expert you listen to, some 7,000 to 10,000 more personnel are expected at the Army post. Plus the support in town – more stores, services, construction and such, that will be needed.

The “Around the Neighborhood” column is taking a turn at the corner for a bit of a different look at our city and the surrounding area of Southwest Oklahoma. Getting into a home or apartment in a new neighborhood, and in today’s often confusing market, can make a person anxious, to say the least. What we’re going to do is to try and make the experience less of a mystery and more of a Welcome Wagon. (I’m probably dating myself, but how many of you out there remember the Welcome Wagon?)

As an appraiser and not a real estate agent, I’m not trying to sell you anything. So, hopefully you can count on some straight answers about housing, trends, etc. Got a question, send it over and we’ll do our best to answer it, or find “the right expert” who can answer it, in a future column.