Maybe it’s because it’s Friday and it’s darned cold in central Texas. Maybe it’s because the past few weeks have been a bit rough around here with some “business” we’ve been dealing with. It’s hopefully all resolved now. We have new “neighbors” and twice yesterday I started to ride over, take them some eggs and introduce myself and then after the events that had happened with the former owners, I decided I’m not feeling overly friendly and didn’t go. I’ve always said that I can’t change people but I won’t let them change me but maybe that’s no longer true.
When I wrote the post about Black Friday, there were several comments and several emails about how rude people have become. What has happened to us? Please make a point to say “please” and “thank you”. Please teach your children and grandchildren to do the same. Without a doubt, my blog readers are the nicest folks in the world so I feel like I’m preaching to the choir.
When I mentioned Wal-Mart yesterday, several commented that they didn’t shop there because of “inhumane” something. I wrote them and asked for examples and so far, they didn’t respond. Are you regurgitating what you’ve heard from others or do you know it for a fact? When you say things that hurt another person or a business, please be sure you’re talking facts and not just passing on things you’ve heard.
Before Chad went to work for Wal-Mart, I had heard horror stories about how they treat their employees. No doubt there are some badly managed stores but I can tell you first hand that Chad couldn’t have asked for a better employer. He worked there part-time for 4 years while going to college, then stayed on another year til he went into their management program and now he’s an assistant manager with Wal-Mart at a store in southern Missouri. Yes, maybe I’m a little biased but they’ve been very good to him. For those who are consistent Wal-Mart bashers, do you know that even part-time employees can get health insurance and it’s as good as what we have? Did you know they offer an excellent match on 401k plans for even part-timers?
You may say they put the small stores out of business. Do you shop at Home Depot or Lowes? They did that to many small lumber yards and appliance stores. What about Office Depot or Staples? Or Amazon? Why do you choose only to complain about Wal-Mart? It’s just not right. If you have a legitimate beef . . something personally that’s happened to you, then you have a right to complain but to bash a business because you’ve heard from someone else who heard something 10 years ago, it’s just not right. Whether you choose to shop at Wal-Mart or not, think where we would be without them. They employ a whole lot of folks and $10 to $12/hour for part-time folks isn’t a bad salary for college kids.
Like others have said, I buy a lot of produce at Kroger because it sometimes (not always) looks fresher, though it usually costs more. We have a small Kroger. The aisles are crowded and I don’t enjoy shopping there any more or less than I enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart but I don’t like seeing a company unfairly criticized.
Now . . because I don’t want to end a blog post on such a negative note, here’s some good news. We have two hens setting on eggs! We could have baby chicks in a couple of weeks. A Dominique hen is out in the woods somewhere so I’m not real hopeful that she is going to make it with all the critters living in the woods. The Silkie is on the nest inside the coop so I’m pretty confident about those. I have no idea how many eggs are under her . . probably 2 or 3 at most. I’ll keep you posted!
