charlie babbitt was right.....

I set foot in the Franklin K-Mart for the last time Saturday morning. I've said this before, but this time I mean it. The ONLY way I'll go back in there is if the bride or one of the girls are in dire need of medicine. That's it.

I had decided to wash our cars Saturday morning. I knew I needed a few things for the wash bucket, so I went to K-Mart at around 9:00. It didn't look to crowded when I went in, but as I got back to the automotive section I saw 30-40 people congregated around a couple of tables. I went around the back aisle to get the Armour All and the wheel cleaner. At the end of the aisles sat the two tables. I looked closer and saw stacks and stacks of Hot Wheels cars. And the huddled masses didn't include any kids. They were mostly men over 40. Yeah.

I grabbed my items and went to the checkout lines, or should I say line. One register was open. One. There were 8 people in line, and another 5 people wandering around with their carts with that "surely there's another cashier" look on their faces. The bride says she always goes to the customer service area and checks out there when it's crowded, so I did just that. There was only one guy in line, but I looked at his cart and knew it wasn't going to be a quick transaction.

This guy looked to be in his early 50's, and he reminded me alot of the character "Comic Book Guy" on The Simpsons. He had a determined yet satisfied look on his face, and when I saw his cart I realized why he was so thrilled. Comic Book Guy was buying somewhere between 300 and 400 Hot Wheels. And to top it off, the cashier was scanning them one.at.a.time. Upon seeing this, I sat my purchases down on the nearest shelf and left.

I've always complained that our local K-Mart never had enough lines open. As much as I despise Wal Mart, at least they have alot of lines open (even if they're always full). Looks like the new Target will get my business from now on.

Oh, gotta' go. Ten minutes to Wapner.....