Thoroughly disgusted.

I'm not quite sure why this has been eating at me so much, but for the last few days I've had this feeling like the little, small town that I grew up in and love has forever changed. Yes, my friends, we are now the not-so-proud, embarassed, disgusted, outraged, and down-right mad owners of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Let me say that again. Wal-Mart Supercenter. In Yelm. I throw up a little bit every time I think about it. I know there are a lot of Wal-Mart lovers out there (and for the life of me, I will never understand) but I refuse to get onboard. I will still drive 30 minutes to my nearest Target store for the toiletries, cleaning products, and dog food that must be shopped for. I will say hello to the friendly, well-paid and fairly treated employees. I will pay the extra 60 cents for the Lysol, knowing that it's not the low-grade version made just for Wal-Mart so that they can sell it cheaper and then not pass on those savings to their employees. I will drive right by that horrible eye-soar and probably mumble a few choice words at it, too...just as I did on Wednesday when they opened their doors for the first time. I admit, I mumbled a few choice words at the people in the parking lot too. I had crossed my fingers as I approached the brand new stoplight (#5 for the record) in front of the store, hoping and praying that the parking lot would be empty. Not so. The cars were parked clear out to the street, with no end in sight of the line of cars waiting to turn in. It was a very sad day for those of us who grew up loving our local mom 'n pop grocery and pharmacies. I pray that Tim's Pharmacy will still be there when I die. I do realize that Wal-Mart was not the first, and will not be the last...but for good reason, this store is especially offensive to me. I'm all for saving money, just as much as the next girl, but not at the expensive of our families and communities. I believe in fair wages and fair treatment of all employees, no matter what your status.

I'm also not a big bumper sticker fan, but there are a few out there that make me smile. Reading "I DON'T SHOP AT WAL-MART" on the back of someone's SUV makes me feel like I just made a new friend Ü