Walmart - The Place to Buy Just About Anything.

If you've never been in a Walmart store, you really are missing an experience.  I first encountered the establishment known as Walmart when I moved to the South many years ago.  Back then all we had nearby was a 'regular' Walmart which sold clothes, dishes and electronics; you know, stuff other than food. Then they closed that store and built a 'Super' Walmart about twice the size and located just down the road from where the Regular Walmart was. (Contrary to its name, Super Walmart does not have any special powers - other than making you spend money - go figure.)  Super Walmarts carry most anything you need (unless you need it on a Sunday afternoon, then it's iffy at best.) These days Walmart is building "Neighborhood Markets" which only sell food items.  It's a sort of evolutionary process, I guess.

(Odd Fact: Walmart sold more bananas than any other product last year. Bananas. Seriously.)

Walmart is the largest retailer in the world and the third largest corporation in the world with locations in every free country on the planet. (When they build an inhabitable Lunar space station, I expect Walmart to be the first retail establishment there, as well!) Sam Walton founded his first "Walton's Five and Dime" in the South: Bentonville, Arkansas and the corporate headquarters is still centered in that same city.

You'd think that being such a large company that it would have a better reputation than it does. It's a given that being such a large company would also make it an easy target as well as just being too darn large to police itself properly.  There are bound to be problems at every level in something that large - sort of like Congress only bigger.

Walmart has a reputation for being not only cheap but for having the strangest and craziest of customers - but in a good way.  There are websites dedicated to photos and stories of these unique and outrageous people not just in the South, but world-wide! Stories the likes of which would cause a regular person to drop their jaw.  Let it also be known that none of these stories is about me.

I suppose I should admit, I shop at Walmart - but not exclusively. My wife and I both just loathe the idea of giving any of our money to them and go out of our way to give it to others (and save money at the same time!) My wife and I have found a 'circuit' we run on grocery days that takes us to as many as FIVE stores in our area and Walmart is always last. My lovely Southern Belle is quite adept at knowing where to find products cheaper even than anywhere else. It's a science and one in which she deserves an advanced degree.  

You don't have to buy from Walmart, but you may want to stop in from time to time to see the sights.  Just be sure to tell them some guy in the South told you to do it.