“Taking a picture of the new Wal-Mart,” was the answer.
We had just come from eating pizza at a restaurant in Depotland. My husband was taking a few pictures of the construction of the first Super Wal-Mart in Kalispell. His attitude towards the place has been increasingly negative since he discovered the phenomenon of 21st Century Cotton, but still considers a shopping trip to Wang Mart an outing. On road trips he always tells us to be on the lookout for Wal-Mart and sincerely enjoys shopping in a strange, yet oh so familiar store. Every now and then, when we don’t have any particular plan for the weekend, he’ll suggest we take a ride to Missoula and go to Wal-Mart. That’s 120 miles away! I usually cringe at the suggestion and wonder why we can’t make The Children’s Museum, The Carousel, or even Bob Ward’s, the destination. It’s a beautiful drive though, and a visit to Wal-Mart is another reminder of how far removed I am from big city life.
It’s been awhile since we’ve been down there, but the construction of the new store here in Kalispell has had us reminiscing about it. The memory that sticks out in all of our minds is noise. The cacophony of voices, constant beeping of cash registers, and people shopping was something we had forgotten about. It reminded me that even though I live in a small city with lots of hustle and bustle, it is still pretty quiet.
So, I am ambivalent about the coming of the Super Wal-Mart. It will be the only Wal-Mart in the Flathead Valley and will attract people from hundreds of miles away. I moved here to get away from the "big" city even if that meant getting away from "Anywhere in America” convenience. Oh well, I’d better not forget to put paper towels on the list.
