Contributed by:
Karen Groves/YourHub.com
Article Contributed on: 2/8/2009 4:53:23 PM
My husband usually does the grocery shopping, so when he came home after a trip to the Evergreen Albertsons on Feb. 1 and said, "I got some great deals, but it was depressing," I thought he was being overdramatic. That's my style, not his.
But I went Feb. 7 because I saw an ad for half price greeting cards and thought, wow I will pick up some cards for birthdays, thank yous and have a stash, instead of freaking out when I realize I have forgotten to to send one later on.
The place was pretty desolate.
The meat, produce, dairy, deli counters and sections ... they were empty.
Products along the aisles had been moved up to the front of the store.
Some of the checkout employees were there. In the background I heard someone say, "I won't have a job!"
The manager said the store would be closed by Feb. 18.
I asked him what he planned to do and he said, "I really don't know."
When we got to the checkout counter I asked our checker what she was going to do.
She said, "I'm moving back to Wyoming to be near my daughter and grandchildren, but you'd think they could offer me something, since I've spent more than half my life working for the company."
I nodded in agreement. She wasn't maudlin about it and offered a smile as we left.
But I realized as we rolled out the cart that had a bunch of stuff we probably really don't need, that this was a huge building in a relatively new strip mall on Colorado 74. There are only a few other shops that look out on a big parking lot. It used to be a hillside.
Don't know what will take its place. Another empty building. Another symbol of the emptiness of the economy.
I think I bought one greeting card, but didn't feel all that good about it for some reason.