Thanks, But No Thanks, Walmart

Source of photo: https://themilkyway.ca/the-one-word-you-must-learn-to-say/

As a kid who grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, it came as a bit of a shock to me, to end up living my entire working life in a big, indifferent city. I am an introvert, though, so despite the culture shock, there was a great deal of appeal for me, being absolutely swallowed up in a big, anonymous crowd. I think that people who love to sit and quietly think for hours may have fewer issues with big-city obscurity.

Nonetheless, I never did shake the part of me that had grown up in a place where most folks knew one another. Looking as much like my Mom as I do, even as a kid, I never went anywhere without being told: “Oh, you must be Y_’s daughter!” There is something very comforting about being in a place where, as the song goes, “everybody knows your name”.

Advertisement

What’s Happened to the ‘Fast’-Food Franchise?

When I was a kid, there were hardly any fast-food restaurants in my small home town, and none of the multi-billion-dollar franchises that have made the fast-food brand so famous. I joined a swim team when I was 14 years old, and one of the high-lights of our out-of-town swim meets was heading to McDonald’s for a Big Mac and a milkshake after the competition was over. It was a rare treat and we all looked forward to it.