I headed out to Walmart today but I had three strikes against me that never even occurred to me until I pulled into the parking lot. 1) It’s always busy on Friday, 2) It’s the 1st of the month/payday, and 3) there’s a storm coming in. Luckily, I thought, I just need my prescriptions and a few grocery items.

Now, let me give you a little perspective here. I live in a very rural town – actually Wikipedia describes it as an unincorporated community – of less than 200 residents. Our nearest grocery store is 16 miles away, in a town with a little more than 700 residents. Our nearest Walmart is 28 miles away, in a bit larger town of just under 3,000 residents. That town also has a grocery store, a few small eateries, auto parts store, several small locally owned businesses, a few gas stations, several banks, and many churches. It’s insignificant in comparison to towns with a much, much larger population. So, you can imagine our lovely Walmart to be rather pleasant and not too ridiculously stressful…..

…..Unless it’s a Friday, the 1st of the month, and there’s a storm coming in! I didn’t realize what I got myself into until I got there. I was lucky to find a disabled parking spot. I was equally lucky there was a scooter available inside. It was the last one, so I was very lucky! There were people everywhere. I think everyone in the county was in that store! 

I went to the pharmacy first, to pick up my meds. I was annoyed right away because after I paid, the pharmacy technician told me I had to step to the side window so the pharmacist could bag my purchase. Umm….I don’t know what the point of this is really, because the pharmacist didn’t tell me anything about the medications, nor did he look at the labels to see what they were. He looked at the receipt to see that I had paid for them, tossed them in a bag, stapled it shut and handed them to me. The pharmacy tech could have done that!!

Like I mentioned before, I had very little to pick up. On my list were vitamins, Dramamine, cat food, wine, rock salt, small ziplock bags, and a 6 pack of half-sodas. I figured it wouldn’t take long for me to gather those things and get the hell out of there!

Boy, was I wrong! Every stinkin’ aisle I wanted to go down had people blocking the entire path. I mean, literally standing in the center, not off to one side or another. There were some blocking one end or the other, having conversations with others. I almost ran over a few people, who saw me coming towards them but still stopped and blocked the path. I had to back-track a few times, thinking the path would be clear when I came back but that was a fruitless effort. I was in Walmart for an hour longer than I needed to be!

I know everyone has things they need to get done. People have jobs they can’t be late for, kids to get home to and meals to cook, someone to pick up from somewhere, errands to run, appointments to get to. I get it. I have things to do, too. Why can’t people be more aware of others around them? Why can’t they just be more courteous?

When I went to check out, all the lines were several people long. So, I just picked one. There was a man with 3 items who looked about as exasperated as I was and I told him he could go in front of me. I really didn’t mind but I swear, this guy was someone’s Cousin Eddie! You know, the cousin of Clark Griswold in The National Lampoon movies!

He talked my ear off until it was his turn to check out and he was gone. When I got out to the parking lot, he was still putting things in his trunk and talking to himself. I tried to look inconspicuous so as not to draw attention. I swear, I must have a weirdo magnet attached to my hip or something! Seems to be every time I go somewhere, the weirdos all find me. Today just happened to be someone’s Cousin Eddie!