Mike Farwell

I hate the fact that we live in a world where we think a 24-hour department store is necessary. Yes, I understand that with shift work being what it is, some people just have to shop for their tube socks at 3 AM. But I ranted against the ’round the clock Wal-Mart in Kitchener when it first changed its hours and my position hasn’t changed.

So I felt just a little sheepish when, late Friday night I found out a needed a particular pair of gloves, and I needed them by early Saturday morning. I had little choice but to head to the Sunrise Centre and take advantage of the 24-hour convenience. And to Wal-Mart’s credit, the store had exactly what I needed. What I didn’t need, though, was the criticism I got from fellow shoppers.

Having gone to the store straight from a very long day at work, I was still dressed in my business attire. And as I was waiting in line at the checkout, another shopper in the next lane turned to her friend and said, “he must think he’s pretty important, wearing a suit to Wal-Mart.” I’m not sure what bothered me more; the fact that someone felt it necessary to say it, or the underlying implication that I possibly felt it necessary to “get dressed up” to go shopping at 11 o’clock on a Friday night.

We’ll just file this one under the category of “things that make you go hmmmmmmm.”