My Date with the WalMart

Oh to be young and restless.  Just Kidding.

I spent last Friday night at WalMart.  I understand why people hate the WalMart, but I see it as an analogy for Amurica.  (You heard me).  But that's an all-too-economic idea that you could ask me about at another time.

Personally, I sort of have this weird fascination with the WalMart.  It's like so cheap and such good people watching, and also, I feel less like a part of the "Stanford Bubble" when I go to the WalMart.

So off I went, wearing flannel over a Lakers shirt on top of jeans.  And I was WalMart.  I felt it so important that I join the WalMart population that I actually stopped in the Mickey D's (McDonald's) of the WalMart and ordered a hot fudge sundae.  $1 Thank You Very Much.  It was entirely too delicious seeing as it's not made of real food ingredients.

And as I sat there inside Mickey D's inside the WalMart eating my processed cow product with sugar I looked around.  There was the middle aged Mexican man who occaisionally stared at me.  This adorable asian baby playing with a toy truck by himself at the table next to me.  A nice black family with a very chatty 12 y/o girl, and another Mexican family with a baby boy whose cheeks were super pinchable.  And me.  I realized that I was the whitest person in that room, and I was loving every minute of it.  Because that pretty much rarely happens to me (but then again, I do spend a lot of time with Mormons).

Oh, the WalMart has its downs, too.  For instance when the middle aged black man approached me in line and asked if I was paying in cash, to which I responded (quickly and probably with large eyes) No.  He laughed and walked away, but I'm pretty sure the laugh was because he realized what he had just done.  I just still don't understand why he wanted to know.

And also the fact that the WalMart got me to buy a blowdryer because mine was broken and then I spent twice as much a I was planning (the blowdryer was like $28 bucks).  But that post is coming later.

All in all, the WalMart left me ambivalent and still fascinated.  I'm sure we'll meet again, although I'm not sure how I feel about that.