Wal-Mart Dreams And Stranger Things...

Day 15: Fancy Wedgwood can fit in with casual cousins...or so says the newspaper.

Last night I found myself once again at Wal-Mart, the great mecca of all commerce. It was, as usual, a pleasant enough experience. As much as one can point to Wal-Mart as an example of all that is excessive about American culture, I must confess that I, like everyone else, would be lost without it.

Wal-Mart (along with it's upscale cousin, Target) has truly redefined the concept of shopping over the past 25 years or so. While convenience stores and department stores certainly existed in the pre-WM era, Sam Walton's brainchild was one of the first megamart shopping arenas. For the first time, one could buy groceries, housewares, plants and automotive supplies under one roof, and at affordable prices. Now that the roster of services offered has expanded to include an optical clinic, various fast-food emporiums (emporii?) and a beauty salon, all Wal-Mart really needs to be a self-contained community is a school system and a hospital. One could arguably live an entire lifetime without leaving Wal-Mart, much like the Chinese boat people who never touch dry land.

When I was a kid, I remember the Saturday shopping trips I used to take with my mother and sister. These were all-day events, which included (usually) a trip to Loveman's (a department store which no longer exists,) Rich's (ditto,) Pizitz (are you spotting a pattern? Perhaps we inadvertently cursed these places somehow) and at least one or two other department stores. We would usually make a pass through the bookstore and sometimes a music shop. There was always a break for lunch somewhere, followed by a visit to the (yes) now-defunct Pizitz Bake Shop for pastries for Sunday morning. All of this can now be accomplished for the most part at Wal-Mart, with the exception of higer-end clothing...but can it really be too long before a couture boutique and/or Brooks Brothers outlet opens in WM? I wouldn't be surprised...

Which begs the question: has the convenience of the Wal-Mart/Target (et al) era homogenized some of the fun out of a shopping trip? As is usually the case, has efficiency and order somehow robbed the experience of a certain charm? The family dinner table has given way to microwave and/or takeout food eaten whenever the individual's schedule will allow, and the daily newspaper gasps out a dying breath at the hands of up-to-the-minute internet news feeds...can shopping as recreation be on the decline? I certainly hope not.

On the other hand, as long as there are people who need dog food, Liz Taylor cologne and/or a John Grisham novel at 3am, Wal-Mart will ever serve a purpose.

In today's News From The Motherland...the Mini provides jobs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/8235025.stm

Cheers!
FLT3