I’ve only been in a Wal-Mart a couple times in my life, preferring to not feed its gigantism and self-righteously thinking I was helping stand up against their treatment of their employees. However, thanks to a tip from a member of C&F (forgive him too, Father), I went to a local Wal-Mart that just opened to look for light bulbs. At that time I noticed a few prices on things I buy regularly and found some things quite a bit less than where I regularly shop. I’ve been back a few times for odds and ends, comparing prices each time I went.
This morning (if I go on Sunday morning there’s NOBODY there), I did my regularly semi-monthly shopping. The difference on prices between Wal-Mart and my regular chain grocery store ranged from $.20 to $3-4 on individual items. Doing a little calculating in my head, I figure I saved $25-$30. That runs to $600-$700 a year–can’t ignore that.
Don’t know what my penance should be, but it doesn’t matter. I’m hooked and I’ll be shopping there regularly from now on.
Your penance is seeing (in your thoughts, in your dreams) the millions of starving children you’re not feeding by shopping local stores, and instead focusing only on yourself and what you can save by shopping at Wal-Mart (or something like that, I shop at Wal-Mart, too).
I think a more fitting penance is that big yellow smily faces will haunt your dreams, and turn up everywhere–including your doorknocker if you had one–like the ghost of Jacob Marley did to Ebenezer Scrooge.
Hello, my name is mutepointe and I too shop at Wal-Mart. I started back in the old days when they advertised that they sold All-American products. So see, it did start out innocently enough. I felt good about myself. My dog fell in love with the Peanut Butter Flavored dog bones. Then she got hooked. Then Wal-Mart got caught selling products made by oversea orphan sweat shop convicts. But I still had to buy the bones. I usually bought these at my local Wal-Mart with a quick in & out. There were times when my local Wal-Mart didn’t have them and so I had to go in search at the other 6 Wal-Marts within driving distance from my house. The other Wal-Marts aren’t arranged like my local Wal-Mart so I had to search the bones out. Then I found the 20 pound bags of Jasmine Rice that cost twice as much as a 3 pound bag at Kroger’s. Then I just had to buy a backyard swimming pool. And then a bigger pool when that one went bad. Please, someone find me the methadone to Wal-Mart. If not for me, for your childrens’ sake and the sake of the oversea orphan sweat shop convicts.
Oh, you think yellow smiley faces are playful do you?
Clearly, you were not around in the early 70’s when they swept the continent like a plague of yellow smiley-pox. I still shudder. And avoid Wal-Mart.
Back when I was a kid, my oldest brother was in college on a ball team. He got a great deal on some high quality smiley face shirts. Not only did he get enough for the team but he also gave my brothers and me like 20-30 of these shirts. We wore them forever, long after it was cool, but not long enough that they were retro-cool.
I’ve never been to Wal-mart. We don’t have a Wal-mart here.
I made a New Year’s Resolution not to buy anything this year. By that I mean unless it’s something that needs to be replaced (toothpaste, food, something broken) I’m not going to buy any more things. (Going out to dinner doesn’t count.)
I’m afraid that I did break that resolution twice so far: I bought a duclimer and when I spent my gift card at a local shoe store I went over the card’s value.
Anyway I made that resolution because stores like Wal-mart (they’re certainly not the only one) operate on the principle that they need to move as much junk from raw materials to landfill as quickly as possible. You are just one stop along the way to the landfill. I’m not playing that game anymore.
I tend to think that’s what WalMart is TRYING to do, but really, that smiley face is rather frightening. Kind of like clowns. The more I see, the more afraid I am.
No, no, no…too MUCH sugar gives you cavities, heart disease, and even cancer. Plus, if you use unrefined sugar, your risks go way down. It’s all that refining that’s terrible for you, and that goes for any food.
If I had to guess where I got the sugar cubes and coffee, I’d guess Kroger’s. I know that every one one of my actions has a chain of related actions forward, backwards, sideways, and any combination thereof. I try to do the least harm that I can. I wish I had the luxury of being socially conscious with every action that I take. But sometimes, that’s difficult to know and achieve.
The water did come from West Virginia, one of our abundant natural resources here.
Please, someone find me the methadone to Wal-Mart.
Don’t do it. It’s just as bad, as expensive, only semi-legal(better pray you don’t get stopped while driving home from Walmart, you’ll get a DUI) and they’ll call you in at a moments notice to do a bottle count.
Check yourself into Sam’s Rehab Clinic and get clean. Those smiley faces are sportin’ an illegal smile.
