A Trip To Wal-Mart

Gawd, what am I doing here?

Besides low prices, the general theme here seems to be fecundity. Everywhere I look, there are babies, or infants, or small children, or larger children. And even where there are adults, like the proud-looking Muslim man dressed all in white, he is being led around the store by his tween-aged son.

Even where fecundity isn't the theme, the exception proves the rule. In the birth-control aisle, four teenagers, age about 16, eye the merchandise. The two boys loudly compare the merits of the merchandise: the two girls silently shift their weight from one leg to the other in uncomfortable silence. Things are more-open now than in the days of my parents, which may be a good thing - a certain practicality - but there is also a certain loss too, as evinced by the romantic, fluorescent lighting here at Wal-Mart on a Sunday evening.

They have wine here for $1.97 a bottle! Two-Buck Chuck is still Two-Buck Chuck at Wal-Mart! Of course, there is a surfeit of wine in the world. As mentioned in another blogpost, the problem is particularly acute in Australia, but it's bad everywhere. How do you make any money at all with these low prices? The bottle alone is probably worth two dollars....