Like many Canadians who are always looking for a bargain, I headed to Sears recently to take in the first day of their liquidation sales.
Now, I have been a long time Sears shopper.
Back in 1972 I filled out a card at the Sears catalogue store and ordered my first purchase, an electric, backlite alarm clock.
I was 12-years-old and that purchase marked the beginning of my long relationship with Sears.
It wasn’t always a smooth ride, but many of our major purchases came from Sears over the years.
Now let’s leap forward to October, 2017.
My wife and I drove up to Sarnia to have a look around with a sense of excitement one gets when a potential great bargain may be at hand.
It was busy, not packed.
We set off in separate directions, her to housewares and I into the world of outdoor equipment and tools.
The discounts weren’t great, varying from department to department.
I started to have a sense of disappointment set in having driven all the way to Sarnia for what I started to view as a let down by Sears.
Where was the 50 to 75 percent off I had so eagerly anticipated?
I found a chainsaw blade for half price and stood in line to purchase it.
When it was my turn to pay I smiled at the clerk who rang through the sale and told her thank-you and I hoped she has a good day, to which I thought she responded, “that will be difficult to do.”
Those words were a sudden awakening for me.
I looked at the bag she put my purchase in, it was a Christmas bag meant to symbolize joy and happiness, but today it represented the ending of an era.
I looked around and suddenly didn’t see a store full of potential bargains, but people who would soon be out of work.
I started to wonder how a once powerful/successful department store chain could just disappear, leaving behind 12,000 employees and add to that number their families, to fend for themselves in a world where permanent employment is hard to find.
My day, that started off with a level of excitement and anticipation, was suddenly one of sobering thoughts and thankfulness for my own lot in life.
I know I can’t change what is happening and I don’t feel guilty looking for a good bargain.
I just want to keep things in perspective and others in my thoughts.
I found myself wishing I could feel like I did buying that first alarm clock.
Doug Babbitt
Wallaceburg
