I love Wal-Mart. Don't you? But I hate Wal-Mart too. You can get just about anything there. I mean, you don't have to stop by the pet store or automotive store after you get your grocery shopping done because Wal-Mart has it all in one stop! Not only that, but their clothing line isn't what it used to be--they are actually selling quality clothes that kids won't be embarrassed to wear to school nowadays. And to top it all off, you can't beat the prices! You can even get a bite to eat at the in-store-McDonald's or Blimpies, AND order from the check-out line! So the possibilities are endless with Wal-Mart, and they've proved it by coming up with even more ideas of things they can offer to the public. In recent years they have started selling gas, and now there is even talk of them starting a bank! What??? What does Wal-Mart need a bank for? Could they possibly make any more money? Isn't there some sort of threshold for that--for the owners I mean? Think about it: how much money could one person actually spend? Once they make more than it is actually possible for them to spend, should they care anything about expanding? Of course, they would claim that they are doing it to serve the people. But isn't it a bit ridiculous? Do they really have to corner the market in every area? And is Wal-Mart really working for the people? People who work for Wal-Mart don't seem to think so. My mom used to work there for a while--a difficult and strenuous job for little pay. It is also true that Wal-Mart takes business from small business owners because they can offer better prices, and so small business owners often end up out of business (even though their product is usually of better quality). I used to live in a small town in Georgia called Conyers. I guess I should say that it used to be small, because once they built the Super Wal-Mart the town exploded! I hate going to Conyers now. But these are not the really the reasons I hate Wal-Mart...

So I should explain why I hate Wal-Mart: when I go there, it is usually because I need something. But I almost always see something else (or lots of something elses) that I like at a reasonable price. And so I walk out with a lot more than I went in with, and less money in the bank. But what I hate the most is this--I have all this STUFF, "mountains of things" as Tracy Chapman once said. I buy things I don't need at Wal-Mart. It is a battle of good verses evil. When I am inside the Wal-Mart trying to decide whether to buy something or not, it is easy to say "yes" to it because it "doesn't cost very much". But I realize later that it really was not a deal at all because I didn't need that item anyway.

Will I stop going to Wal-Mart? Probably not. But how can I save myself from being manipulated by this multimillion dollar department store? I guess I need to learn a little self-control. Wal-Mart will probably always be a thorn in my side...