Outside, trash cans are packed full of happy meals, soft drinks and fast food items. Misplaced shopping carts lie scattered across the concrete plain. The bitter cold weather has not deterred anyone from having a cigarette. Blue-shirted employees come equipped with clipboards, walkie-talkies, and name tags to give themselves identity.
On a Saturday afternoon, Wal-Mart is an active breeding ground for restless shoppers intent on encountering unbeatable prices, assuming they make it past the greeters. Rarely is there ever one store where someone can have fingernails polished, hair trimmed, pictures taken, eyes examined and bellies filled.
“Jon, come here!” his wife hollers. She has found a column of eight shelves devoted entirely to Lysol disinfectant spray cans, which are assorted in many different shapes and colors. Jon studies each one carefully, as if the can he chooses will . Just around the corner are Ziploc bags, which also come in a large variety of shapes and sizes. An old woman with matching bandages on her cheeks speaks quietly to herself. Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue is on display in the noticeably thin aisle of books, which incidentally is located right next to the much more abundant video game section. One lucky kid clad entirely in camouflage gets a shooting game compliments of his loving mother. Playing throughout the store are Wal-Mart TV Network televisions displaying a continuous loop of advertised products. At the tire & lube express section, blue-collar employees work to the sounds of country music. The Lynn Anderson song “Big Girls Don’t Cry” plays on the radio.
Wal-Mart is the Ithaca you don’t see walking the streets. Not every Ithacan boasts buying only organic products, shopping locally, and Not everyone has the wallet for that. Here, people find a place that suits their family’s needs and provides a source of comfort not found in the small boutiques of the Commons.
Thank you for choosing Ithaca Wal-Mart.
Why Not Ithaca? 