My Wal-Mart safari.......

I usually shop at a nearby Target store when I need to get something relatively quick. Last night, I was printing out some pictures on the printer and ran out of ink. Target doesn't carry the printer cartriges and the various electronics stores were closed. My one option was the 24-hour Walmart nearby. There's a couple of things that become immediately evident when you enter the store......

1. The store is DIRTY. I guess I never realized how dirty the Walmart stores are when compared to other retailers. I've never seen so many spots on the floor where something had dropped down and dirt had been tracked through the mess.

2. The people in the store are an interesting group of people to say the least. There is no dress code for sure. Anything you think a person could wear in public can be seen on display in a Walmart.

My trip to Walmart was topped off by a family in the self check-out line. Family consisted of parents (who were both likely only around 40) and they had 5 kids ranging from 18 to around 10. The oldest girl also had a 6 month old baby.

Normally, you think the self check-out is for people with a relatively small amount of items. Not this family. They decided to bring the self check-out line to a virtual stand-still by checking out THREE SHOPPING CARTS of stuff in a self check-out line. To add to the excitement, the 18 year-old appeared to have no idea that the bar code on the product was actually how the price scan works. She just kept spinning the product until she heard a beep.

Meanwhile, her baby is sitting in the cart. A teenage daughter is standing next to the baby only to see the baby spit up all over himself and the floor below. The teenager duly notes 'Uh, the baby just spit up all over the floor'. To which the 40-some mother says 'I'm sure they'll have someone clean it up'. The teenager sees the baby spit up again a couple of minutes later all over the floor again, but doesn't say anything this time because she knows what her mom will say.

After scanning for at least 15 minutes, the family finally has everything paid for and is ready to leave. At that moment, the mom hands out cigarettes to basically anyone in that family who's old enough to smoke. They all stick the cigarettes in their mouth and head out the door with lighters in hand. As soon as they hit that exit, they're ready to light up.

I'm not sure when I'll go to Walmart again, but it'll have to be an awfully good reason.