I went to Walmart last evening. I know there are many memes which circulate on the internet showing the caliber of people who shop there. I took a look around tonight and was struck by a plethora of things. First of all, there were many families out shopping for school supplies. The aisle was crowded and in disarray, but I was heartened to see parents who thought it important to get needed supplies to aid in school success.
In addition, I was struck by the varied people in the store. I encountered many polite people who were moseying around. There was a young woman who had chosen to purchase an animal print sweater. No Walmart jokes, please. I liked it a lot myself and paused to look at it. She was clearly delighted by this find. There were men thoughtfully perusing the kitchen items. There were kids in the toy department. Young couples were wandering about. A lady was in the photo department, in a chair, and I wondered if she were printing photos.
There were employees stocking shelves and directing people to the bathrooms. The lines were a bit long but there were many registers open. The young man checking out my items was polite and nice and the young woman on the next register was laughing with a customer at something that had occurred. The lady in the yellow vest who checks receipts at the door was interesting in her own right. She was petite, with caramel colored skin and a completely bald head. She was absolutely beautiful.
I indulged in people-watching and wondered about the financial difficulties which are prevalent in the lives of so many and how heartbreaking it must be to be unable to provide needed items to one’s family. I used to worry about that at Christmas and felt for parents who could not give their children presents. When my classes read The Glass Castle, there is a chapter in which Jeannette Walls explains that her parents did not allow the kids to believe in Santa because they didn’t want it to affect the kids’ self-esteem when other kids got lots of gifts and they didn’t. You know the whole “if you are good you will get gifts” line of thought? Well, what happens if kids are good and still don’t get gifts? The Walls parents were guarding against this. Now, mind you, they might have considered being a bit more conventional and providing the family with food as well as Christmas presents, but that is a story for another day.
I left Walmart feeling a bit melancholy due to my musings. It also crossed my mind that there was probably the same cross-section of people in the El Paso Walmart when the shooting occurred, people who were just out to shop. There is so much wrong with the world today and my shopping at Walmart does not, I know, help to eradicate the wrongs wrought by Walmart. There are many things right with the world today, as well, including the employee with the beautiful Jamaican accent who thanked me for returning my cart to the cart corral, the parents who were purchasing school supplies for their kids, the mom buying milk and snacks for her family, the young lady delighted by the animal print shirt. There are so many simple things that we take for granted, including the ability to buy a few things at Walmart and safely return home. Feeling grateful today for many things.