I'll probably drift furthur off topic, but I have a Wal Mart story of my own. I come from a small farm in the hills of WV, drive back down a few times a year to visit. Left for home early one Sunday and the wife was bored so I drove up by the Mountaineer Mall that I used to drive the hour long drive to as a kid when I first got my license. We drove up the big hill to the mall and found a big empty building with faded letters from Sears, J.C. Penny, Radio Shack, Marshal Fields, etc. At the one end where Montgomery Ward used to be was a Walmart. Closer to my parants house there was one remaining grocery store all the other stores have closed. Drove the other way on another trip to MD and the same thing, everything closed but the one Walmart. I've went to a couple more small towns and they are all the same empty malls, empty stores, boarded up grocery stores and pharmacies and one Walmart and nothing but walmart. There is no choice at all, need eggs and milk, go to walmart. Need shoes, walmart. Need a knife, walmart. Need tires, walmart. Don't like the brand of eggs, milk, shoes, knife, tires? Too bad, there isn't another store around. My cousin from high school and his wife now come up and stay the weekend with my wife and I about twice a year and go shopping because there are no other stores within the 250miles between them and us but walmart's. He wanted a digital camera and three walmart's near him only had one brand and never had any models less than $300. He's using an old PC that I gave him, that I pulled from the dumpster, works as a mechanic and a volunteer fireman so he doesn't have much money to spend on things such as that. I took him to an actual computer store where he found a nice little 3 megapixel camera for $129 and a case and some batteries, and spare memory card. I see the face of small town USA being completely changed. Used to be kids hung out at the ice cream shop, women at the hair salon and men at the hardware, etc. Now the only place to go it walmart and the only place to get a job is walmart.