Uh, Wal-Mart?
The strawberries, in the regular plastic box with a lid, were 99 cents for the one-pound container.
Ah, yes, they were fresh with bright green tops and they cost me half the price I would have paid had I bought them down the street at the other store where people come from miles away to buy the great produce.
A politically incorrect Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market opened where I live, on the west side of Altadena, in spite of much protest.
“And just why are you shopping here?” I inquired of a woman loading a few groceries into the back seat of her car.
Her answer explained quite well her view of knowing how to spend money wisely. No, she’s not going to be a supporter of the new kid on the block because she knows, she said, that overall their prices really aren’t low – “It depends on what you’re buying,” she proclaimed.
She’s been providing groceries for her household for more decades than she wanted to reveal and knows the should-be price for everything she buys. Establish a price range, she said, and know what’s your limit, and you’ll come away leaving many an item on the shelf. And that’s just what she did at Wal-Mart.
Me, I hit the check-out line spending three bucks for three pounds of strawberries and headed down the block to Super King, the market with the fabulous fresh produce, and did my shopping for the morning.
As usual, the place, unlike Wal-Mart, was swarming with shoppers.
“You what?” shrieked a politically correct friend of mine whom I encountered in the leafy- green vegetable section.
“No way am I going in there,” but she said with price being a huge consideration for many people feeding a family, she understood them spending their money with a corporation that underpays workers and neglects to provide benefits.
“Don’t go back,” she said to me with a fixed gaze.
I passed her admonishment on as I left the store. I smiled at a shopper, leaned in close and said, “Remember not to go up the street to Wal-Mart.”
Shirlee with a double standard? Say one thing and shop another?
I went to the grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony where a bunch of so-called community leaders were swarming everywhere. Were they shopping? Didn’t see nary a one with a basket.
The store manager handed out grants to a few non-profits, who, more than likely, supported the store coming here, against the protest. The John Muir High School Drum Corp had a few neighborhood folks moving to the beat, a local school board candidate was handing out vote-for-me stuff, and the head of the Altadena Chamber of Commerce had words of welcome.
Me? I’m hanging with the folks who drive from afar to shop at Super King. But I’m going to Wal-Mart for just one thing; the hook-you-in-the-store-item. Shoppers who watch their money will be documenting the win-some lose-some prices at Wal-Mart.
