Walmart Perspective

Day 3. Dwight, IL.

The road to the unknown! I didn’t really know where I was going, or how far I’d get, or where I’d stay when I got there. I just knew I had to get on the road and eat when I got hungry and sleep when I got tired. Going back to Chicago was not an option, nor was hightailing it straight home. The rental car and the ticket back to New York 4 days later were mine, and they were unalterable. I had gotten some advice from my dad on finding campsites, as well as some encouragement from Noel and from my dear friend Melissa. Everyone else was much more confident than I in my ability to make this journey successfully. If you’re a seasoned camper, you’re probably thinking I’m a big sissy – and you’re right. In some ways I’m fearless and I don’t pay attention to my limits; but this was different. I was going to have to rely on myself for my survival, with no front desk to bring me extra towels, no tv, no comfy bed, no maid service, no air conditioning, no plumbing. What I fear most is the unknown, and all that lay ahead was four days and nights of it.

The fuel light came on about 2 hours into the trip, so I pulled in to a BP/McDonalds. Quick side note – I would have thought that BP’s gas was going to be cheaper than anyone else’s, given their recent disastrous behavior and their sore need for public love; but it’s not. What’s up with that? Anyway, as I sat in the parking lot Google mapping my route on my iPhone, a minivan pulled up next to me, and out piled 7 women, all dressed in white shorts and black t-shirts with BON JOVI bedazzled on the front. I stopped to talk to them and it turns out they were 7 sisters, on their way to see Bon Jovi in Springfield. Aren’t they adorable?

Around lunchtime I pulled into Bloomington, IL to grab a bite and some supplies and figure out a route. The trip suddenly looked a little brighter when I got a call from mom saying she could pay me back some of the money I loaned to ransom her stuff from the moving company, and would wire it to me immediately. Suddenly my goal went from basic survival to survival adventure! I could afford a KOA! I wouldn’t have to sneak my tent into some unguarded farm and wake up to a shotgun poking through my tentflaps! I rewrote my budget, mapped out a route, and hit Walmart and Aldi (again, obsessed) for supplies.

The checkout girl at Walmart was chatty and very friendly. I really admired the way she handled an issue with the customer in front of me, and her attitude was just so sunny and positive, I felt I had to compliment her on it. I said to her, “You have such a great attitude. It’s very refreshing.” Do you know what she said to me? “Thanks!” she said, “I love being a Walmart cashier! How many jobs do you get to stand in air conditioning all day and talk to people?” I thanked her and moved toward the door, feeling a lump growing in my throat. You know how sometimes the smallest things can just knock you over with a feather, when you least expect it? This was one of those things. How much do I worry, fret, complain about everything – my job, my apartment, my life, my government, my health – and here is this woman with a $6/hour job who thinks she’s the luckiest girl in Illinois because she gets to “stand in air conditioning and talk to people.” Perspective check! I pulled myself together and wiped the tears that had uncontrollably spurted from my eyes, not wanting to alarm anyone; and made a quick trip to customer service to notify the manager that she had a star employee on her hands. She made a note and promised to bring up my compliment at the next staff meeting. Maybe that girl will get a raise!

Since I’m such a fan of The Simpsons, I HAD to stop in Springfield. Turns out the timing was perfect for me to spend my first night camping there, as I would arrive by 6ish and therefore have plenty of time to get myself all tangled up in tentpoles. My iPhone found me a KOA right by Springfield Lake – perfect! As I pulled off the exit ramp toward the lake, I could see two giant smokestacks – just like in The Simpsons! The KOA was way back by the lake around a long, windy country road that got smaller and smaller and more rustic (and far away from the Springfield Nuclear Plant!), until it was just a tiny bumpy country road deep in the woods; and there, as I pulled into the KOA, were the Burma-Shave signs: No planes, no traines [sic], no highway noise. KOA Kampground!