Attention Wal-Mart Dads

Wal-Mart is a world power that everyone has to reckon with. Living my entire life in Arkansas has led me into a long relationship with the retail giant. We in Arkansas are proud to be home to the largest retailer in the world. At the same time it seems comedians are all too quick to make the lets go down to Wal-Mart jokes about country bumpkins. So the chain is a source of pride and ridicule all at the same time for us Arkansans. We don't pay any attention to the ridicule because we are going right back to Wal-Mart when we get off work anyway. In my opinion any place where you can pick up a set of mud tires, a new TV, and a 10 pound bag of burritos in one trip is a place worthy of my praise.


Now Wal-Mart has its drawbacks as well. The virtual monopoly it holds in my part of the world has put many family owned local businesses out of work. When I was a kid the countryside was home to many community stores. They had the essentials along with a cafe or bait shop in some locations. These stores have long since gone the way of the dodo bird. Sometimes I pass the abandoned buildings or the empty parking lots of places like Three Way Grocery or The One Horse Store and remember a different time. Along with that drawback Wal-Mart also has a little problem with fresh groceries. The produce is pretty poor and is always picked over due to the sheer volume of customers, but the main problem is with the meat. There is no butcher at Wal-Mart. You cannot pick up a fresh cut steak or freshly ground beef. You cannot buy shrimp or fish by the pound. All the meat is shipped from the supplier prepackaged and frozen. There is no such thing as fresh Wal-Mart meat.


Even with these detractions Wal-Mart is still a wonderful place. It is a great place for the new dad providing everything you need and a lot of things you don't in the baby center. They provide you with the lowest prices on diapers and formula, and as a new dad you will find out that those things will cost you a fortune so every little bit counts. The list of quality items does not stop there. Braden already has the entire collection of Wal-Mart clothes and toys. Not to mention that we got his swing, bouncy chair, high chair, pack and play, and various other necessities there too. Wal-Mart also provides you with budget pricing on everything from food to bathroom supplies to toys to anything else you can imagine. Now they offer the same brands of TVs, computers, cameras and other electronics as the specialty stores. There is really no reason for the new dad not to love Wal-Mart. As I have said many times in my life, "If Wal-Mart doesn't have it...You don't need it." So I am glad that Sam Walton is a fellow Arkansas. I am glad that he built the largest retailer in the world. And most of all I am glad that I live only 1/2 mile from the nearest Wal-Mart.