Sam Walton & Albert Einstein

I took The Quartet to the Sam's Club tonight, God help me. I have a certain disdain for the big box retailers, as I feel they've done a number on the Mom & Pops of the country. Do not misunderstand me, I'm all for capitalism and the freedom to choose where you want to shop, and I believe if one store is better than another then it deserves to prosper. And I don't begrudge Sam Walton anything, he made it to the mountaintop of retail. I am a small retailer. I'm the Pop in Mom & Pop, and I know from experience that the quickest way to make a dollar in retail is to start with three dollars. But as a small retailer, I also cannot deny the low, low prices of Sam's Club.

I also cannot deny that Sam's Club may have the power to make you smarter. Case in point, we were wandering down one humongous aisle full of bushels and passels of stuff people need when this little nugget of a conversation took place:

C: E equals MC. Did you know that?
S: No.
C: Well it does, doesn't it Dad?
Me: It actually equals MC squared.
JP (jumping and twisting): MC squared! MC squared! MC squared!

Once we discerned that E=mc(squared) is the Theory of Relativity and Bulk Shopping, I pointed out the 36-count box of Twix for S to grab and we headed to the checkout lane.