I'm just in from runnin' the day's errands which included buyin' toothpaste and that's the post title subject. Like this:
I swear to The Deity At Hand... there HAD to be a dozen different varieties of Crest and I didn't even look at the Colgate and other brands. This makes me wonder about toothpaste sales (as in: do they REALLY sell enough of each formula to make it worthwhile?) while wonderin' if it ain't all just the same stuff, re-badged. It really wasn't all THAT long ago when you had just one variety of Crest, Colgate, Ipana, yadda, yadda, to choose from.
Speakin' of Ipana... I always bugged my Mom to buy Ipana when I was a kid. Mainly outta fraternal solidarity:
You don't KNOW how much grief I got as a kid because of that damned commercial.
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It's warm outside, Gentle Reader. No... make that HOT:
Why is teethpaste costing four bucks? Big profit item for everyone. I grew up with the colgate stuff, still use it event hough I don't really care. I buy cheap and use a coupon when possible.
ReplyDeleteSo... Someone had red hair and prominent front teeth? We wouldn't have noticed where I grew up.
I was gonna go on about the cost, too... but didn't. I DID notice that there was up to 50 cents difference between the various formulas carrying the same brand.
DeleteWho know why Wal-Mart buys and sells the things they sell. I swear I find something I like and buy it regularly for years. Then one day, they just quit carrying it. Rant.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that, too. And it SUCKS.
DeleteBuck, I'll try to make a long story short. I had a friend from Texas who was a Christian Missionary to the Russian Caucuses (not sure I spelled that right, but you know what I mean). He and his wife had been over amongst the Caucasians for about 5 years, and they came back stateside (we were living near Durango, CO at the time) to stay with us.
ReplyDeleteWe needed groceries, so he and I piled in to the car to go to The City Market in DGO. I watched the guy as we walked down the aisles, filled with merchandise. Pam had green beans on the list. There were four brands, and at least that many varieties/cuts/whatever. Toilet Paper was on the list...and we all know that there are at least 3 brands/thicknesses/shades of aloe/etc. in even the tiniest of grocery stores. Then, 'taters! Russets, Yukon Gold, big bakers, or red new 'taters!
You see where I'm going. After only grabbing a few items on Pam's "list" (and trust me, EVERYTHING she puts on the list gets bought), he was really worn out. He had really forgotten what it was like to live in the Western Hemisphere...the guy actually shed tears as he told me how "alien" he felt...having lived where there was one kind of bread (the kind your wife baked), one selection of meat (Happy, The Goat), and really bad toilet paper that makes you wish you hadn't wiped.
Thank God, Pam did not have toothpaste on the list. The guy may have stroked out on me.
And, THANK GOD there was no WalMart in Durango at the time. Hell, The little City Market damn near killed him...
Everyone who's lived in the Third World for any period of time has a story like this, Andy. One of our euphemisms for home back in the day was "the land of the Big BX." Coming back after an extended absence is a SERIOUS thrill but it can be dis-orienting.
DeleteAn old fam'bly story: When my family was stationed overseas back in the '50s we went five years without iceberg lettuce, which was and mebbe still is an America-only commodity. Our fist night back in the US we went out to eat in a restaurant in NYC and my Mom ordered an entire HEAD of lettuce, quartered and served with Thousand Island dressing, as the only dish for her dinner. The waiter was terribly confused until Mom explained. The story has it dinner was "on the house."
HA!!! Love the old family story, Buck! Seriously, I do.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of trying to explain what "Purple Hull Peas" are to Coloradans... It truly sucked that we could not get them, and had to listen to the "Are the peas purple, or just the pods?" over and over and over.
We brought back an ice chest full when we made a trip back home. Pam cooked them up with lard & Tony Chacheres' for a large group of Western friends. I swear, those folks FINALLY got it!!! I felt like a missionary...