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Don’t we love our local Walmart? Even though one guy didn’t take kindly to me terming it the epitome of rampant capitalism. But since it is autumn soon, we have to fall into line with some humor — including back-to-school — at the expense of our area super-box-stores! (But for their legal Beagles, they generally are good sports). —– So last call for flowers anyone? And a quip about the Queen Mum? And the NR Thrivent triplicate (potted) plants on THEIR front porch.

But first, this is not exactly a shoutout to the Target marketing department. I debated for a full year before pointing it out, but here we go! In a back-to-school-ad, they led with a frying pan for sale and a pitch for students making their own stir fry! I think (actual) fries would be more likely. And these days anything pink, for the girls and young women, mostly the former. And not the red meat, either.
After all, they are not mom. And we are not mum on that. Like the often-written-about Queen Mum? Here-to-fore, there were garden mums on sale at Walmart, some of the few (actual) plants that are still taking up the rear, at best, but indeed this one variety and lots of them, were right by the front doors. (Not that the queen gardens much, rather has been seen throwing roses at Saskatchawanians, hadda get in that word from an actual headline, and not mine, even though not did not get by spellcheck). Closer in to the actual box of concrete it was more like seed and fertilizer. Unlike their Hudson counterpart, and even though not a Super Walmart, as the New Richmond version in spring didn’t have the rows and rows and more rows of plants and other flora taking up parking spaces. Not that it’s a bad thing. And now it is fall, soon, and those mums at the everyday low price, (and that’s not a sale price mind you, as some people mix it up), were mentioned in the same breath as apples and pumpkins. Cool! Literally! But soon back then, come April, they were far more flowers to be found in a newer and bigger enclosed with plastic tarp area. Like your front porch times a few hundred. Minus that many square feet of plastic. Like better the many big boxes of flowers in downtown NR.
So kudos for that, the fall fixtures part. Spreading beauty. But maybe not for this: In what I’m assuming is a back-alley-type back break area at the big store, there were all kinds of half-empty bottles of energy drinks and soda, mostly the former, but at least they had the caps on. Coming back for the rest on the next break, two hours away (we assume)? And like a local cabbie said, enabling him to find a place to pull over and drop off a fare: At least they got rid of all those unsold (obviously) and cut-rate lawnmowers. Now parked behind all the snowblowers?

A thought for the day, now with a death, a dream. We next year are coming up to the 60th anniversary of that end-of-August famous Martin Luther King speech, I Have A Dream. Has that much time passed, or maybe not at all considering the slow pace of such progress. Two other takeaways: Has anyone else noticed that there are so many other like-minded or at least thus-resembling the sets of triplicate (again referenced) letters that are MLK. I think MKE for some reason that I recall being about Milwaukee. To that end, isn’t it just a bit, if not ironic at least unusual, the fact that he took his name from a profoundly white German man.

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