Why I Hate Wal-Mart

1. Everybody who works there acts as if they're being booked for murder.

2. Everybody who shops their looks down on their luck.

3. Shopping there makes me feel down on my luck.

4. The company's exploitation of its employees and vendors makes me feel like I need to go to confession after I buy something there.

My mother said she'd drop dead before she stepped foot in a Wal-Mart store, and it appears she was right. I managed to stay out of our local store for over three months until last week when I returned to buy a specific pressed powder I have been unable to find anywhere else.

I discovered that Wal-Mart no longer carries this powder, giving me one less reason to shop there.

My amazing friend, V, and I went back yesterday to buy pet food. Yes, I know I can buy pet food anywhere, but I also wanted a bottle of Africa's Best hair and skin oil for my winter-dry skin and hair (works wonders, People, and it contains no mineral oil!). Like the pressed powder, I haven't been able to find it anywhere else.

But the experience was demoralizing. I keep hearing my mother saying, "I can't believe you shop there!" (Mom was an advocate of the poor and less fortunate and believed that shopping in places like Wal-Mart creates more of them.)

The cashier with the peach hair looked right through me after I smiled at her and said 'hello.' I may have to learn to do without my Africa's Best. If you know of a good substitution, do let me know.