These are a few of my favorite holiday gripes... - Beyond Tiki

J johntiki Member MD Joined: Mar 31, 2002 Posts: 1528	J johntiki Posted posted on Fri, Dec 16, 2005 7:02 PM On 2005-12-02 21:56, stuff-o-rama wrote: I can't imagine what that place is like during the shopping rush! Unfortunately I’ve observed the mayhem that is Walmart at 5:50 on Christmas Eve and it was without a doubt one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever witnessed. This was probably 8 years ago, before my wife and I were even married, and I had just picked her up from work so we could drive directly to the yearly Christmas Eve revelry at my Aunt Carol’s. She used to work in downtown Baltimore, close to the gargantuan Walmart right off Key Highway, and I decided I’d hop in real quick and grab a few last minute treats for my nephews. As soon as I edged the car into the parking lot I should have just turned around, put my foot to the floor and gotten the hell out of there. But considering I had time to kill and I had always been oddly curious about those “few last minute shoppers picking up a few odds and ends.” Being a guy I’m not a stranger to last minute shopping but I’ve never dangled my toes over the edge of the “belated Christmas present cliff,” I usually wait until the last Saturday before Christmas and get it ALL done in one day. But the instant I stepped through the sliding door I was horrified. The sound hit you first, the frenzied murmur of 400-500 shoppers frantically filling their carts with every conceivable item that remained on the shelves. The scratchy P.A. mic snapped on and the voice on the other end sounding both exhausted yet extremely agitated, “Walmart is closing in 10 minutes! Please make your way to the cashiers immediately! We will be closing at 6PM!” Carts were crammed shopper to shopper about 100 yards toward the back of the store and the procrastinating lot inched forward slowly with each successful check-out. The last minute, all that remained sad gifts were spilling from the hefty handcarts and shrill laughing children ran through the check-out aisles blissfully unaware that it was Christmas Eve. Obviously the parents weren’t treating these kids to any of the lovely Santa Claus mythology that made being a kid so much fun at Christmas time. When you see Mom paying for the shelf-worn Tonka truck at the neighborhood mega-mart 12 hours before it miraculously appears under the tree, it quickly erases from your little mind any belief in the Jolly Fat Man and his 8 tiny reindeer. But the most disturbing element of the whole chaotic scene was the lack of concern on any of the shopper’s faces… here it was 6 hours from Christmas and no one appeared concerned. They just stood in line selfishly ignoring the increasingly frantic calls from the employees who wanted to get out of the god-forsaken store at a decent hour and get home to their friends and families. I just stood there for a good minute, mouth agape, observing the mayhem. I quickly turned and left when I felt like vomiting. It was a vile scene that I vow to never see again!

On 2005-12-02 21:56, stuff-o-rama wrote:
I can't imagine what that place is like during the shopping rush!

Unfortunately I’ve observed the mayhem that is Walmart at 5:50 on Christmas Eve and it was without a doubt one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever witnessed. This was probably 8 years ago, before my wife and I were even married, and I had just picked her up from work so we could drive directly to the yearly Christmas Eve revelry at my Aunt Carol’s. She used to work in downtown Baltimore, close to the gargantuan Walmart right off Key Highway, and I decided I’d hop in real quick and grab a few last minute treats for my nephews.

As soon as I edged the car into the parking lot I should have just turned around, put my foot to the floor and gotten the hell out of there. But considering I had time to kill and I had always been oddly curious about those “few last minute shoppers picking up a few odds and ends.” Being a guy I’m not a stranger to last minute shopping but I’ve never dangled my toes over the edge of the “belated Christmas present cliff,” I usually wait until the last Saturday before Christmas and get it ALL done in one day. But the instant I stepped through the sliding door I was horrified.

The sound hit you first, the frenzied murmur of 400-500 shoppers frantically filling their carts with every conceivable item that remained on the shelves. The scratchy P.A. mic snapped on and the voice on the other end sounding both exhausted yet extremely agitated, “Walmart is closing in 10 minutes! Please make your way to the cashiers immediately! We will be closing at 6PM!” Carts were crammed shopper to shopper about 100 yards toward the back of the store and the procrastinating lot inched forward slowly with each successful check-out. The last minute, all that remained sad gifts were spilling from the hefty handcarts and shrill laughing children ran through the check-out aisles blissfully unaware that it was Christmas Eve. Obviously the parents weren’t treating these kids to any of the lovely Santa Claus mythology that made being a kid so much fun at Christmas time. When you see Mom paying for the shelf-worn Tonka truck at the neighborhood mega-mart 12 hours before it miraculously appears under the tree, it quickly erases from your little mind any belief in the Jolly Fat Man and his 8 tiny reindeer. But the most disturbing element of the whole chaotic scene was the lack of concern on any of the shopper’s faces… here it was 6 hours from Christmas and no one appeared concerned. They just stood in line selfishly ignoring the increasingly frantic calls from the employees who wanted to get out of the god-forsaken store at a decent hour and get home to their friends and families. I just stood there for a good minute, mouth agape, observing the mayhem. I quickly turned and left when I felt like vomiting. It was a vile scene that I vow to never see again!

Post #203469 by johntiki on Fri, Dec 16, 2005 7:02 PM