Clean Up On Isle Five

I had to go to the supercenter today. I tried to avoid it, but I had to get my daughter some medicine and the other pharmacy in town didn't have a pharmacist on duty. So, I was trapped for 20 minutes while I waited for her medicine and started to wander aimlessly around the store.

The first thing I noticed was all the Easter baskets. Most of them were three feet tall filled with all kinds of goodies, all for $19.95. Then there was the candy. Rows and rows of brightly colored bags that crinkled deliciously when I held them in my hand. Easter eggs, jelly beans, chocolate covered peanute butter pieces, anything a sugar-starved little waif could want.

I wandered through the cards looking for something original and encouraging for a friend of mine who's going through a really difficult time, well four difficult times all at once. WHen it rains it pours. I did find one, so decided to wander over to the books.

By this time, I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all the stuff. I don't like shopping in stores because I can't focus. Shoes, housewares, food, clothing, jewelry, garden supplies, furniture....STOP! It's just all too much.

I felt like that when I looked at the titles. All the "faith" oriented literature disturbed me. That, combined with all the materialism, made me want to spew my breakfast. It's a WalMart faith. All of them promising to help me live my best life, be a powerhouse woman, take control of my circumstances, live my faith through fashion. (What the h**l is that about anyway?!) Then there are books that tell me how to relate to God through three minute prayers. Like I could pull up to a fast food window and order a relationship with the creator of the universe. Maybe the warning would read, caution, contents may not contain any real truth at all. Nothing of any substance whatsoever.

There was nothing I saw that would even interest me in the slightest, except maybe a cooking magazine.

I'm just rambling here, so let me wrap this up concisely. My problem is not with fluff books, per se, although that is a big part of it. My problem is with the "Christian" or "family oriented" label some supercenters gives themselves.

If most families spent half the time with each other as they did buying crap at the world's largest supercenters, the world would be a much better place. Think about it. Half the stuff we purchase ends up in the garbage anyway. There is no shelf life, since most of the merchandise is made overseas and falls apart by the time you get it home anyway. It's all about materialism. It's all about me. They should call it Me Mart.

Who are we kidding. These big stores don't care about families, towns, churches or even America. It's about the money. And if we keep spending it, they'll keep selling it. I'm tired of this don't ruffle me, give me what I want, don't-require-anything-of-me kind of life.