It's Friday! Time for an Encounter of the Third Kind with the WalMartians.

Hello Troops,
It's nearly 6:30 A.M. and time to get ready for my weekly field trip to Wallyworld (Walmart) to spend the Space Center's hard earned money on edibles and consumables for tonight's Overnight Camp.

The Walmartians know me well after years of shopping every Friday morning. We have our own body language. For example, I walk up to the bakery counter and clear my throat. They see me. I wave. They wave back. I nod. They nod back. I blink 7 times, walk 6 circles around my cart and tap my head 15 times. They mirror my signals showing me they understand. I turn away from the bakery with a thumbs up and proceed to the bananas knowing my bakery friends know I'll required 7 dozen donuts at 6:15 A.M. Saturday morning.

Another example of how the WalMartians and I understand each other is when I get to the cashier for check out. I smile. She smiles back. I touch the side of my nose. She taps her forehead with her left index finger while using her right index finger to enter the school district's tax exempt number into the register. You see, its all done without one spoken word. The Walmartians know me and I know them and their peculiar ways.

How about a chuckle or two from the Children's Section of the Imaginarium Public Library.

"Once upon a time on a planet far away there lived a simple bounty hunter doing the best he could to scratch out a simple existence for himself and his clones....."

"No matter how many times he tried, Capt. Kirk could never master the Vulcan greeting, until one day on the rocky planet of Gilgone. There, while stranded after a failed expedition......"

"Apollo Bear and Starbuck Bear listened while Adama Bear explained the danger they were facing from their Cylon bear creations. Starbuck Bear chewed on her cigar while doing all she could to keep from exploding in anger over the loss of her planet and her favorite honey tree."

"Rabbit Paul Atreides stood in the silence of Arrakis' night. The shifting sand beneath his paws was the first indication a sandworm was present. He took several steps back and waited...."

Later I'll be wishing you all a good night from my desk at the Center after we put 45 kids down for the night.

Have a Good Day,

Mr. W.