Walmart

   Last night after a grueling shift at the library, I found myself sitting in the Walmart parking lot waiting for my sister and niece to buy back-to-school supplies (and groceries, which weren't mentioned when I was asked to take them, but nonetheless there were bags and bags of groceries as well). Why they waited until the night before school started to get supplies, I won't go into here (that's a family drama that would take up a whole other blog!), but I waited A LONG TIME while they were getting them. Instead of ruminating on my black funk thoughts of "this can't be my life" -- which I'd already done all night at work -- or focusing on the ever increasing rumble of my empty belly, I watched people. Um, people-watching at Walmart at ten o'clock at night. What might I see?
   I was expecting to see some of those "people of Walmart" from the internet pictures. You know the ones, the butt-crack people and the bad cross-dressers and the show-off-your-hooters ladies. Nope, didn't see anything like that. Maybe I was at the wrong Walmart. What I did see was a lady pushing three carts hooked together like a train using the child-protection seat belts. Each cart was loaded down with bags, yet she was pushing them like it weighed no more than a stroller. I could tell she's done this train thing A LOT. Whether her load was all groceries or a little something something from every department, I couldn't tell, but she must've spent a fortune to rack up that many bags.
   I watched a cart-pusher tote load after load of carts from the parking lot. That dude was amazing in how smoothly he maneuvered those carts! I always seem to get the one with the cock-eyed wheel that goes the opposite of the others and makes me run into things. People kept bringing him stray carts, which at first I thought was a nice gesture. Then it made me mad. People, I wanted to say, this man is hunkered down and dragging those carts with a strap across his shoulder like a donkey pulling a plow. Get off your lazy ass and push that stray cart into the store, since you're headed in there anyway, and give that man a break. But I didn't. I just sat there and watched, shaking my head.
   I don't know what was going on in that Walmart, but people were coming out laughing and carrying on like it was a party. Walmart is no party to me. I dread shopping there like the plague. I wander around and can't find the one thing I'm looking for, then I end up buying other crap I can't afford because of all the wandering. In fact, I've taken to shopping at the Walmart Neighborhood Markets if at all possible. I can get in and get out in a flash, especially if I use the self check-out, with no cashier chit chat or temptation to overspend. 
   Since I had SO MUCH TIME to kill, I also noticed the Walmart sign on the store, probably for the first time in years. What the hell happened to the hyphen? And when? Didn't it used to be Wal-Mart?? And what is up with that yellow sun-looking logo? I worked there for six months, cashiering and later in customer service (yes, the dreaded returns desk!), and I wanted to die every day. There was absolutely nothing sunny about Walmart. The one decent thing about working there was when my TV died and I got a 10% employee discount on buying a new one. Of course, they still got $400 of my hard-earned dollars in the deal. Even the discount wasn't enough "sunshine" to make me want to continue to work there. And what happened to their "Always low prices. Always" slogan? Did they give that up because they are so ginormous now that they figure people are going to shop there no matter what their prices are? Unfortunately, they are probably right.
   Finally, after a milk spillage in the cart which necessitated finding a new round of school supplies to replace the sopping ones, my sister and niece finished their shopping and I was able to go home, eat a sandwich, and fall into bed exhausted. I do not plan on seeing a Walmart again for some time. Except, damn, I used up all the bread for my sandwich. No way am I going back -- I'll go to Food 4 Less instead. They still have a slogan: "Our name says it. Our prices prove it."