I'm on vacation here in Duck, North Carolina.

Part of the fun of being here in North Carolina is that I get to visit stores that I don't regularly visit. The closest large store to our rental house is Walmart.

At home I don't go to Walmart. California doesn't have a lot of Walmart and none in my immediate vicinity. Furthermore, Michele has decided that we are Target people, not Walmart people. Not one to argue with my wife, I have not been to a Walmart in recent memory. Recent memory is the last 15 years, or the time since I moved out of the fraternity.

I was first shocked when I entered Walmart and they had boogie boards on sale for less than $10. 'Wow, that's a deal.' I thought.

As I walked through the store my eyes began to glaze over like a zombie as my mouth said the words 'Wow, that's a deal.' over and over. From chicken feed to video games to air conditioners to shotguns, there was nothing that Walmart didn't have for a good price.

If not for the stern direction of my wife, all the cash in my wallet would have been sucked out into the Walmart registers. I still can't get the image of the first-aid kit for $9.82 out of my mind.

Photo courtesy of cousin James

Here's just one side of the sunscreen display. Amazing isn't it?

How in the hell does someone shop regularly at a Walmart and not end up endlessly wandering the aisles looking for yet another deal?

I wonder how early Walmart opens and if those first aid kits are still on sale?

Posted by michael at July 08, 2005 06:08 PM