he said. “I thought this place would be empty.” “Honey, please,” she said. “Shopping is a compulsion for folks. I have girlfriends who go shopping no matter what time it is—it’s something to do, like eating or watching TV.” Inside the massive, brightly-lit building, bleary-eyed shoppers wandered the wide aisles like zombies cursed to browse store shelves for the rest of their existence. Clerks shuffled the floor as if dazed, yet avoided making eye contact with customers, either too tired or apathetic to care. A couple of tired-looking young women were pushing giant carts with little children in tow, the kids’ heads drooping sleepily. “There should be a law against bringing a child into a store this late,” she said. “What kind of parent does that?” “They’re handing down valuable life lessons. Shop till you drop—literally.” In the electronics area, they selected a basic, prepaid cell phone and three calling cards, each with a hundred minutes. The main benefits of the phone were that they could activate it without giving a credit card number or name to the cellular provider, and they could purchase additional minutes as they needed them.
