A WORLD WITHOUT WALMART

Who in America can conceive of a world without seeing a WalMart in a day? or 2 within a mile?

I don't know how many Americans actually saw it coming but I know I did.They moved into my home state of Wisconsin in the 80's and nothing has been quite the same since. I , of course, was amazed at the low prices and who could resist that slogan" Bring it home to the USA" .We were lead to believe this company actually cared about American made merchandise. And look at all those jobs they provided for older Americans and single moms. 

What could not be good about that? But something always felt a little off to me even from the beginning. Yes, things were cheaper there than my hometown pharmacy, hardware, or clothing store. I told myself it was Ok because this was the American way. But there was that nagging question. How can they make these things so much cheaper. Then the slogan changed to "Always the Low Price" and my small town pharmacy, hardware and clothing store went out of business. WalMarts added food and became Super Centers, Sam's Clubs and hundreds of other names around the world. Yes, something very big was happening here and within a decade the face of American changed. Then the real story came out that most of the merchandise is made in China and other foreign lands.The Walton family and this corporation has become the riches in the entire world selling Americans on the idea that cheap is all that matters. Let us all buy as much cheaply made shit as we can. Cheap shit that breaks because it is very consciously made to break. That way you will need more cheap shit soon. And we can pay to ship this broken cheap crap back to the country that made it to fill  their land fills.

 WalMart is the 666 demon foretold ,who has come to play on our greatest weakness . GREED. It has allowed the heart and soul of Americans to be rotted away in a mind altering hypnosis of greed. Always the lowest prices will be it's epitaph.

I could not see and still do not see how this blight on the face of the country I once loved would ever be reconciled. What could we turn those butt ugly building into if Wal Marts would just fade off the face of the earth? So among many other reasons I have moved to Mexico. 





The town is ancient compared to any town in America.

It is a 15th century jewel. A World Heritage Site. The absolute polar opposite of the WalMart world. It is a town full of tourist who come to see how life once was. And there are a hundred thousand of us who get to live life as it once was. A life of breath taking beauty. 

 Yes, there is a Mexican WalMart on the far edge of town . I have not been in it. (If you have seen one you have seen them all).It is not the center of commerce here. 
The life that once was is still very much alive. And it is the life we live.

 Tiny grocery stores are conveniently in every neighborhood. They are places where you can just take a tiny moment to get milk, eggs, or vegetables, without the major energy expenditure of parking your car, walking  a block to the doorway, seeing at least 100 other people and waiting in line so the robotic clerk can wish you a nice day. She uses her technically advanced machine that beeps my stuff through and tells her exactly how much change to return to me.

My little neighborhood store is the large garage of my Mexican neighbor. His entire family is living in and around the store because it is also their home. His children come out to stare at my neon orange hair. His dog lays on the balcony over the store. I take my selected items to the counter. He gets out a piece of paper and a pen , adds them up and makes change using his math skills.We make eye contact. No one else is waiting in line . I do not feel the need to move along. I smile at him, his wife, his children.

I know he appreciates my pesos. He feeds his family with them I leave feeling like a real human being
and he and I have had a real exchange and 

 I do have a nice day.