Drama at Walmart

 

I went to Walmart pickup today.   It was a bad hair day, and I decided not to fight it.  What could go wrong?  It's not a long trip and there is little opportunity for social interaction or having some of the craziness that can happen inside the store erupt.   In fact, it was so strange in 2020 that I've never been back inside a Walmart.  I place an order online and go to the pickup area, call them, and someone comes out and puts my groceries in the trunk.   And away we go.  

One associate had been especially friendly to me and I had the feeling that somehow he had decided to avoid me for unknown reasons.  So, I halfway hoped to avoid him too.   He was indeed there, and did manage to avoid me, so that landmine was negotiated OK.  Then a woman appeared with my order.  Goodness.  She was polite and friendly enough, but I wish I had a photo of her.  She was a sight to behold.  Her pink hair was in even more of a bad hair day than mine, in a confusing tangle with about two inches of dark roots.  She wore a ring in her nose.  I wanted to inspect her clothing getup more carefully but I didn't want to be rude so I pretended there wasn't anything unusual about her.  She looked something like a clown.  But she did a good job of handling my order, and I was glad to leave Walmart with my groceries.  

I headed out toward the outskirts of town, and passed a pile of clothing with a Walmart bag attached piled up on the sidewalk.  In fact, it appeared that someone had collapsed on the sidewalk walking home from Walmart.  The bad angel on my left shoulder told me, no, it was just a pile of clothing.  The good angel on the right shoulder told me to turn around and render aid.   I pulled into a driveway across the street and went over to see what was happening on the sidewalk.  At that point I saw that it was a man who was now sitting up.  He was in such a condition that I was nervous about him, but I went ahead and greeted him.  I asked him if he was OK and told him I was afraid he was hurt.  No, he said, he was fine.  He didn't smile, but I could see that he had no teeth.   He was in some sort of dire straits, but I couldn't determine what sort.   One of his problems was that he looked to be too elderly to be trying to make a trip to Walmart on foot.  Still, I didn't want to offer a ride.  He appeared to be a starvation victim because he was extremely thin.  Seldom have I seen anyone who looked so ragged.  I was satisfied that I had done an adequate amount of checking on him, and waved goodbye and limped away.