Target or Wal-Mart?

Okay, so we know how Steve Olsen feels about it. He'd much rather go to Target. And he says that serial killers and terrorists frequent Wal-Mart because they can be with their own kind there. So what does it say about me that I prefer Wal-Mart?

Don't answer that!!

No, seriously, though, what do you think? I know that when my sister lived in Arlington, Texas, she said she hated going to WM and almost never did because it was invariably trashier and scarier than Target. And once, when I visited her, I went to WM and I could see exactly what she meant. The WMs in the DFW metroplex seem to be more like the K-Marts have always been -- sleazy, unkempt, ugly and generally unappealing. So when I'm in the metroplex, I tend to gravitate toward Target when I have to shop for general supplies.

However, WM in other places has always been a source of friendly familiarity for me. The employees at WM in smaller communities tend to be congenial and even cheerful, while Target exudes an aloof boredom. That attitude is great in a big city, but in a smaller city, it's snooty.

Target is usually much cleaner and has wider aisles, but I find that their product selection isn't always as deep, and their prices have historically been higher. That may be changing as Target seems to be ramping up its efforts to compete with WM in the superstore niche.

The one clincher for me, though, is that perhaps the reason there's more crime reported at WM is because most WMs are open 24 hours a day, while Target closes at night. The fact that WM won't be closed when I drive there -- that's a big incentive for me to shop there. I can tolerate the narrower aisles -- made even more un-navigable late at night due to the pallets of new stock being unloaded -- knowing that I can go whenever I need to.

That, and except for my OU Sooners, I have never been a big fan of red. Just doesn't do it for me. And there's just too darn much red in most Target stores.