Thursday, December 24, 2009

Petting Zoos

On another note
I go to buy my 2 year old nephew a big Tonka truck at Target the other day, you know the big yellow one which is made of steel and can break down drywall if you push it hard enough. Well as often happens, I go to Target, find the last Tonka truck, stand on line with 1000 other sad saps, fork over $38 and walk home truck in tow. Well wouldn't you know it; the last Tonka truck has a busted axel and can't drive so I head back to Target to exchange it.

See it was my fault for expecting any differently because the Target of your suburban town and the Target at the Atlantic Center Mall are two entirely different shopping experiences. YOU get big aisles, nice selections and a pleasant place to buy inexpensive undershirts while we get cramped space, boxes ripped to shreds, people shoving and opened bags of stained undershirts.
Somehow the urban setting does not allow a picture frame to be kept on the shelves undamaged.
It's the difference of going to a normal zoo or a petting zoo. In one place you look at pretty animals while the other one you have to wash your hands when you're done. I theorize that people in suburbia go to Target with the intention to actually buy stuff whereas the city Target is used more as a place for people to ruin stuff they don't want to buy themselves. In suburbia you typically drive to a Target, buy what you have to and leave. The same store set in a city becomes a place where people gather or go together not intending to buy stuff but more to browse which becomes a breeding ground for mischief. This is why the return line is three times as long as the cashier line.
At the Atlantic Mall Target somehow it seems completely within your right to drop things on the ground, puncture boxes, take stuff out of their packaging and leave it lying there like a big pile of dog crap.

So after I return the Tonka truck I search for anything else to get the little Tyke. Problem is somebody forgot to tell the shoppers at this Target that there is a recession every shelf is practically empty and what is left has been kicked, beaten or punctured.

So I hope my 2 year old nephew likes his "who said it" board game. It's missing a few of the question cards and it says it's ideal for ages 10 to 99 but he'll have to deal

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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