A Day Trip to Reality

We got up Saturday and decided to just drive. Since the gas is cheaper this week we thought it would be nice to get out and see what was going on out of South Carolina. We ended up in Atlanta and decided to walk around some of the shopping malls which are already decorated for Christmas and all set and ready for the paying customers that didn’t show up in the numbers they were hoping for. It was really nice to walk around in the spacious uncluttered stores and the people seemed so nice and polite. I even had one young lady say she really liked the hat I was wearing. There were 40%, 50% and even some 75% off signs in most stores but few people were in line at the cash registers to take advantage of these deals and as we ventured toward the more exclusive stores it was like a ghost town. It was kind of interesting to watch the sales clerks in the higher price stores summing up each and every customer passing, as if to be able to tell if they were worth waiting on. It only takes a trip through Neiman Marcus or Kenneth Cole to be struck by the reality of where we stand in the world of economics. Do people really pay this kind of money for clothes? It was amazing to me that a sweater could cost more than some people make in a week. It was no wonder Sarah Palin’s people could spend that kind of money at this store. I wonder if they kept the receipts. What’s Cartier’s return policy? I guess if you need to know those things you would be like me, only there as part of the sightseeing tour. That explains why the clerks were so good at summing people up. If you have the look of bewilderment on your face they just assume they can’t help you, unless you’re asking where the exit is and does it cost anything to get out of here. I overheard one lady tell her daughter that they only had $250 dollars to spend today and her daughter said, “That won’t even buy me a pair of shoes.” Heck, I can buy several pair for $250, what planet is she from?
I did learn one thing on this weekend adventure; if I can’t pronounce the name that’s on the label I probably can’t afford the clothes.
Just Saying!
Odes Roberts