Walking 10,000 steps in Walmart

We’ve had some rain lately.

I don’t mind walking in some kinds of rain, but I’m not wild about the kind Forrest Gump calls “big fat rain.”  It’s just too cold.

So, the past two nights, I finished my daily 10k steps inside Walmart.

One lap around the interior of the store is about 900 steps.  Sometimes I detour through the aisles in order to bump the number to 1000.

Sometimes I listen to books.  Sometimes I look at the merchandise (a little boring after a couple of laps).

But I can’t help but to watch employees haul out the palettes and stock the shelves — and they do this a lot when I’m there, generally fairly late.

Walmart employees work very hard — and I’m wondering if they work a little harder when they see me walking and observing.

It occurred to me, this morning, that there may have been some people working there last night who thought I was in management, from corporate.

It’s not that I’m dressed well.  I’m not.  But I’m constantly walking and watching.

Last night, I saw a manager sort of raise his voice to an employee.  He was barking instructions on which part of the floor to clean first.

I looked at him, and he looked back — and I think he may have slightly checked his tone with that employee. I think he may have thought I was somebody.  I kept walking.

Of course, he may have just thought I was a pest, getting in his way.

I do have an imagination, and I’ve held an added fascination with Walmart ever since I read (or listened to, rather, while walking) Cheap, the High Cost of Discount Culture.  And, the mind can do funny things — and those inside walks do seem much longer and are certainly more boring than walking in nature.  So, it’s more likely that nobody even noticed me at all.

Walmart is perfect for nights like this

From a political, socioeconomic, business point of view, I don’t like WalMart too much.

Even though they’ve got some cheap stuff, I preferred retail the way it used to be, years ago, before malls and shopping centers — back when my family had a downtown department store.

It used to be located here, in front of those green awnings.

N. Main St., Salisbury, NC
N. Main St., Salisbury, NC

Even if it costs a little more, I’d rather buy my stuff somewhere else.

Nevertheless, when it’s late, and it’s raining hard outside, Walmart does provide a dry place to walk.

This is just to say: I just got back from walking 3 miles in Walmart.