June 23, 2020 - 284 - "Consumer Heaven and Hell"

Five Hours to Kill in Dallas

     It feels like there are always a few things I have tucked away to do the 'next time I'm in Dallas'...but zero of them occurred to me last week when I had time on my hands.  

     My dad's appointment was supposed to be a quick one, it turns out we were wrong.  The nurse said it would be at least 5 hours...and didn't seem to want me to hang around their waiting room.  

    All I could think to do was to go pick up some things at Target.  Naturally, there was one very nearby.  

     As I drove that way, I passed a Walmart.  I thought, I'd check that out too if Target didn't do the trick on the time.  

     Turns out I did have time for both, and the two experiences could not have been more different:

Heaven:  Shopping at Target

      My love affair with Target began way back in college the first time I had an apartment of my own.  It took only one trip to Target to get everything from cleaning supplies to decor to towels to dishes.  

      Years later, when I tried to do the same in Manhattan...without a Target for miles, I began genuinely longing for one.  

      Fast forward to Michael and I getting together. The first time I came to visit him in Texas, Target was the first place I asked him to take me.

     Last week just reconfirmed my love for the store.  I've barely shopped anywhere in person since COVID, and I wondered how they'd handle it.

   

 -They were conveniently located, and had a huge parking lot with plenty of spaces open.

-There was a sign outside saying that every shopper must wear a mask, and maintain 6' of distance from fellow shoppers

    

-A woman was wiping down carts as they come in from outside.  She said, "Good morning!" very pleasantly.

    

    -There was a Starbucks located right by the door (Yay!  Not enough coffee in the world for a 4 a.m. alarm clock and Dallas traffic.) 

      They had a plexiglass wall up and, sadly, a sign that said "No Consumption of Food or Drink" in the store.  

     This was both sad...and reasonable.  I'd been wondering how I was going to maneuver my coffee under my mask. 

   -The floors gleamed, their displays were pretty, and it seemed very calm and peaceful.  I took one of their carts, and it glided across the floor like we'd been dancing together for years.

   

 -There were few people in the store, but lots of employees.  At least three employees said good morning and asked if they could help me find anything.

-They had neat home decor and supplies, clothes, and grocery options...all at fair prices.

  

-When I went to check out, two checkers were standing at the end of their rows offering to ring me up.  I realized as I was shopping that the couple of items I wanted to get, I couldn't:  They were grocery items that needed to be cool.  (Duh.)  But I did buy a candle and a spiral notebook with a cool design.

Hell:  Walmart

     Then I went over to Walmart.  The first one I ever went to was near my home town.  It seemed pretty much like an old-school K-mart.  I remember buying a few things there with my first paychecks from part-time jobs in high school.  

     Over the years, it has seemed like their stores tended to be a little less attractive, and the other shoppers a little more prone to yelling at their kids, but I never gave it a whole lot of thought.  I know they don't pay their employees very well, but don't really know what Target employees make either.

     I still had a couple of hours to go when I finished wandering every aisle at Target, so I headed over to Walmart...

Maybe it's just that particular Walmart, but it was horrible...

-Weirdly inconvenient to get into their lot...and I had to circle to find a spot.

-They had random sticks in buckets of sand with streamers making lanes for people to line up to go in.  The streamers were mostly torn and blowing in the wind.

-No one had on masks as I waited, except me.  The woman in front of me didn't even have on a shirt.  Not kidding.  She was wearing a bra.  It wasn't even a sports bra. It was a slinky shiny satin bra with lace insets.  Not a lot of coverage, but I admit she had the body to wear whatever she wanted.

-I wanted to get out of line before even getting in, but the streamers weren't torn where I was standing, and people came up behind me.  Close.  They didn't seem to have heard that there was a pandemic going on.

-There was a woman by the door with a clicker, so I thought they'd be half empty once I got in, but as the person at the front of the line caused the automatic doors to open, the noise from inside was unbelievable.  

-When the next person walked in, I'd gotten closer and could see the scene.  People were fighting over carts....trying to pry apart the few working ones.  It was an absolute mob scene as far as I could see into the store. 

      I'm not sure what number the woman at the front doing the counting was given, but it must have been close to 90% of what's allowable for the fire code.  

      I made a U-turn and left. 

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"I like long romantic walks 

down every aisle at Target."

 -Anonymous (...and me)

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"I will go out of my way to avoid the shopping crowds and the extreme consumerism-I hate all that."

-Annie Lennox 

(...and me.  But in the case of Target, 

if it's not too busy, 

I'll make an exception.)

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