This, that and the other …

     I was saddened to learn of Larry Hagman’s death the day after Thanksgiving.

     A couple of months ago, I wrote how I was enjoying getting reacquainted with Hagman in his most famous role as conniving oil baron J.R. Ewing on the TNT reboot of the old nighttime soap opera “Dallas.” While the new version of “Dallas” was supposed to focus on a new generation of Ewings, Hagman clearly stole every one of his scenes.

     Hagman, who was 81, had already filmed some of the scenes for the show’s return in January. So far, I haven’t heard how the producers plan to address Hagman’s death as it relates to J.R. Ewing.

     J.R. Ewing is truly one of the most infamous and iconic villains in television history. Still, Ewing is not the only role for which Hagman gained a measure of fame.

     As I was perusing Facebook posts on Hagman’s death, there were a fair number of my friends who recalled Hagman more as Major Tony Nelson from the sitcom “I Dream of Jeanie” in the 1960s. I remember watching reruns of that show in the afternoons after coming home from school.

     It’s funny, though, I don’t remember Hagman in a military uniform as much as I do Barbara Eden in a genie outfit. Just saying.

     It may be a little monetarily mercenary to think in this way, but I also stopped in on eBay to check out Hagman autographs to see if they were going up in price after his death.

     I have an autographed Hagman card in the celebrities portion of my collection. I did the same thing after comedian Bernie Mac’s death a couple of years ago.

     Now, as then, the card auction prices seemed to be seeing a bit of an uptick, but it appeared to be no major spike. Some cards didn’t even have bids.

     Both cards remain in my collection.

     Speaking of buying and selling, how ’bout Black Friday? Or could it be called Turn-A-Dollar Thursday?

     I say that not in any negative way because I was out and about Thanksgiving night like millions of other shoppers across the nation. I just wasn’t there for the 8 p.m. “madness” when the sales started.

     Despite an absolutely atrocious NFL game on TV, I stuck to my plan to go out a few hours later. I had looked at the sales circulars and identified a few things I was interested in, most of which I imagined I could get after the really big crowds died down.

     And right I was.

     When I arrived, the store parking lot resembled a typical busy Saturday. Once inside, I secured four of the five items I was seeking and I declared the trip a success.

     And of course I again this year fell prey to “good deal” impulse purchase. Last year on Black Friday, it was a computer printer; this year it was a vacuum.

     In recent years, the start of Black Friday has gradually moved up. This year, many of the big sales events started on Thanksgiving at 8 p.m., with other sales starting later that night and into Friday morning.

     I have to admit I think the spread-out nature of Black Friday sales made things go more smoothly, at least from my perspective.

     I’ll go on record now with a prediction for Black Friday 2013: Big sales events will start at 6 p.m. or earlier Thanksgiving day. We’ll see if I’m right.

     After my Black Friday shopping excursions, I came home and caught a few episodes in A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” marathon. Like USA does with “NCIS” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” I think A&E likes marathons of its “Wars” shows (Storage, Shipping or Parking) or “Duck Dynasty.”

      I don’t hunt, but I have to admit the show about the duck call makers from West Monroe, La., is starting to grow on me. My Facebook confession was “liked” by several friends who were also lamenting Hagman’s passing.

     That’s all for now.

     Write to Managing Editor Matthew Coleman at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven MS 39602, or send e-mail to mcoleman@dailyleader.com.