by Wise Spirit

Created on: June 13, 2009

When I lived in North Carolina, Wal Mart was the "place to be". Everyone shops there. It is a place where you catch up with your next neighbor, your cousin from the next town over, your kids teacher or the pastor of your church. If you chose to go into Wal Mart after midnight, oh heavens! The place turns into "club" Wal Mart! Girls in skin tight outfits and made up faces, men decked out in their Saturday night's finest! I would always expect a strobe light or something to drop from the ceiling and Kanye West to start blasting from the intercom or something. The greeters always warmly greet you and this is the same no matter if you go to the Wal Mart in Raleigh or the one in Asheville. You feel safe when you walk back to your car. You can ask any of the employees to help you and they're all glad to assist you. Needless to say, back in North Carolina I'm a big fan of Wal Mart.

Fast forward two years now living in Florida. I've been to a total of eight Wal Marts' and have been disappointed to some degree at each experience. The greeters don't greet you. Heck, they leer at you as if you're inconveniencing them by walking in the door. You better not be in isle one asking for help with something from isle eight either, because you're on your own. As it's been pointed out to me on more than one occasion, "that's not my station!" You can go there at 5pm or 5am and they are always stocking. There are boxes all over the isles and don't even look like you need help moving one to get to an item. The check out clerks don't say thank you and those that do say it as if it takes every bit of energy they have. When I park my car I usually longingly stare back at it because the security patrol is parked at the front entrance talking to the woman in the very tight blouse. Sure, I could go to Publix (and often do) but the prices are a bit higher and they don't always have everything I'm looking for. So what do I do with the economy kicking my butt? I shop at Wal Mart and say bad (really bad) words under my breath as I save $14.37.

This morning my husband and I took a trip to one of these Wal Marts. This one is on Old Vine in Kissimmee. It's one of the nicer ones we frequent. I'm assuming it's because it's in the "tourist" part of the city. Anyway after I pay the cashier, who actually smiles at us and engages in conversation, I fumble with my bags and leave. The greeter at the door tells us to have a nice day and does so without any sarcasm in her voice. This is

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