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.
