books and walmart

A while back I posted that I wish I read more. My sister suggested a book entitled, "Wild Swans". I got the book, read it, and am still thinking about it. It was amazing, to say the least. It is a true story following the lives of a Chinese family who lived during the regime of Mao and communism. I simply cannot put into words the horrific things that happened to them. In a nutshell, it seems to me that communisms' intentions were pretty good (share the wealth, no separation of classes, etc.). However it got so completely out of hand that I would describe their living conditions as truly horrific (and even that isn't a strong enough word). Was it a feel good book? Heck no! But I would highly, highly recommend it as it was very enlightening and made me realize how completely spoiled I am living here in America. When I throw myself a pity party because Cam didn't nap as long as I would have liked, I simply think about the character who was forced to kneel in the snow for 8 hours straight as punishment (and that was a pretty mild punishment!) and I quickly snap out of it.

Now, on to a completely different subject: Walmart. I used to dislike, no actually I used to hate Walmart. Whenever I went, there were screaming kids running around, messy aisles, things always out of stock, etc. Moving to Beaumont, I had to resign myself to the fact that I would have to frequent it often as it was the only store of that type close by. I have come to really like it (although as soon as a Target moves here, my loyalty will quickly change). The main thing I like is their grocery prices. My friend, Ana, and I have long had a friendly debate over which super market is the cheapest. She says Ralph's, I would say Staters. No longer, however. I challenge anyone to find lower prices than Walmart. Here are a couple of examples you can use to compare. Graham Crackers: $1.00. Sweetened Condensed Milk (I know, a little odd, but I buy it so much I know it by heart): $1.08. Those are just a couple. And please don't look down on me for saying this, but they actually have some semi decent clothes!