\u2022 When I got to Walmart, I headed to the section where the office supplies were.\u00a0 Were <\/em>is the operative word, since they used to be there but not anymore.\u00a0 But luckily there was an associate nearby — she told me that the office supplies had been relocated to the corner of the store.\u00a0 I asked her about mailing tubes specifically and she replied, yes, they are there.\u00a0 Of course, when I got to the office supplies section, I found no mailing tubes.<\/p>\n \u2022 As I headed back to my car, I passed a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE in faded five-inch capital letters.\u00a0 It was homemade.<\/p>\n \u2022 I headed over to the nearby Publix market on the off-chance that they had mailing tubes. Turning into the lot, I followed what was probably the largest pickup truck I’ve ever seen. Its bulging jet-black body showed no sign of ever having picked up anything other than its owner.\u00a0 And in the window behind the driver’s seat was this stark black-and-white decal: NOT SPONSORED BY MOMMY & DADDY.<\/p>\n \u2022 Publix had no mailing tubes either (it was an off-chance, after all) so I decided to head downtown to Staples.\u00a0 Driving southbound into Asheville on I-26, one is greeted by a sign at the I-240 interchange that promises VISITOR INFORMATION if one stays to the left: I think most people, if using their common sense instead of their GPS or Gracious Lord, would choose the Downtown ramp.\u00a0 But those people would be wrong.\u00a0 To get to the Asheville Visitor Center from southbound I-26, one must use the I-240 eastbound ramp, then quickly merge into the left lane<\/em> of I-240 and cross two lanes of expressway traffic in less than 1500 feet to exit the freeway and navigate to the Visitor Center via city streets.<\/p>\n Apparently, visitors to Asheville are more than able to execute this challenging maneuver, as we seem to have no lack of their kind in these here parts.<\/p>\n \u2022 I get to Staples, pick up my mailing tube and fall into line behind a scrawny woman standing next to a rather beat-up Canon Pixma MX492 printer box at her feet.\u00a0 There was one associate at the checkout.\u00a0 I think, oh no, I’m going to be in line forever, but then I say to myself, GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE, and suddenly another checkout associate shows up!\u00a0 (OK, I made up part of that last sentence.\u00a0 It was the part in capital letters.)\u00a0 Anyway, the scrawny woman starts to explain to the new associate why she is returning the printer.\u00a0 Something about paper jams and error 5100.\u00a0 The associate asks, do you have a receipt?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Okay then, how about the credit card you used?\u00a0 I used a debit card, she says.\u00a0 Okay, says the associate, we will credit it to your debit card.\u00a0 Some keystrokes later, the associate asks, are you sure this is the debit card you used to buy the printer?\u00a0 Meanwhile, I am now purchasing my mailing tube from the other associate, who wants to know whether I have a Staples Rewards Card.\u00a0 I say no and tune out the scrawny woman’s printer return story.<\/p>\n \u2022 As I was driving home from Staples, I thought of the time a few years back when I was walking into Lowes (across from Walmart near Madison County) and was approached by a thirty-something woman holding an item I cannot now recall.\u00a0 She wanted me to take her item to the Returns Desk, get a cash refund and then come back out and give her the cash.\u00a0 She had no receipt.\u00a0 I told her I could not do that and resumed walking into the store.<\/p>\n \u2022 When I got home from Staples, I checked walmart.com and found that my local Walmart does not even carry mailing tubes in-store.\u00a0 All in all, it was a disconsolate trip through the little town I live in. \u00a0 At least I can say it was not sponsored by mommy or daddy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I headed out this afternoon to our local Walmart near the Madison County line to buy a mailing tube for a photo print.\u00a0 Here were the highlights from the trip: \u2022 On the way to Walmart, I drove past the … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/chcollins.com\/100Billion\/wp-content\/uploads\/26-240.png\")
<\/a>I stayed to the left, not because I need information but because that is the fastest way to get to Staples.\u00a0 But information-seeking visitors who heed this sign are presented with a more difficult choice just 1000 feet down the road:<\/p>\n<\/a>Oh Gracious Lord!\u00a0 Which way should one turn for VISITOR INFORMATION?\u00a0 Should one head Downtown or follow the Expressway?\u00a0 Unlike the last fork, there is no helpful signage here.\u00a0 As a visitor looking for information, what path would you choose?<\/p>\n