Economic Stimulus

Frankly, I'm a little weary of the phrase. There are others that are beginning to bore me as well.

Sluggish economy. Lagging sales figures. Retail sales continue to plummet.

Excuse me! I don't want to understate the catastrophic economy or minimize the doom and gloom that we currently thrive on, but do any of these researchers and pundits ever try going to the mall?

I went to the mall on Saturday, expecting to bop in and bop out quickly--given the gravity of our situation. I saw in the paper that Dillard's was having a shoe sale...50-70% off, no less! Since I recently cleaned my closet and passed 32 pairs of shoes to charity, I have empty spaces on my shoe racks...lots and lots of empty spaces...and feel a real need to fill the vacuum. Realizing that we are in dire straits in our country, I felt a little guilty about going out to spend money.

But face it, my friends, I'm an American. I can only control the urge to shop for so long.

I headed off to the mall with only a short amount of time before my next appointment. I literally drove around for twenty minutes trying to find a parking spot. I followed package bearing shoppers to their cars hoping for a spot. They were only dropping off the load so they could go back for more.

When I finally found a spot 'way out on the edge of nowhere, I was running short on time, but not determination. Not only were shoes on sale, but so were jewelry, clothing, bedspreads...everything!!

I'm thinking Dillard's, Macy's, Dick's, Kay Jewelers and others sparked their own Economic Stimulus package for a mere fraction of the cost of the Congressional version.

They did this for the price of a newspaper ad. What a concept!