So we’re down here in Hilton Head. One of the stops we made was to the local WalMart to pick up some essentials for the week. For me that included some new razors.
I don’t know about you guys out there but the razor dilemma and debacle has been going on in my life for decades. Part of my razor life is and has included the use of disposable razors, and those can be hit or miss. I can remember digging through the garbage can in the bathroom at the firehouse because my Captain told me my scruff was to scruffy. Either that or the Chief was coming down for a visit and I needed to represent.
Over the years when I didn’t rely on disposables it’s been the endless game of buying a new razor that comes with a replacement set of blades. What that leaves me is using it down to the bone, both blade and face wise, because I didn’t have a new set of blades to click into. And at times shaving was flat out painful no matter how much soap and shaving cream I lathered on my stubble.
Several times Theresa has come home from Costco with a 100 blade pack only to have to return it because she thought I had such and such a brand or model. Mach 3, Sensor 3, Extreme 3, Sensor 2, Fusion 5 just to name a few.
Like we see in fly fishing products and companies there’s some smaller companies out there trying to break into the huge shaving market. Companies like Dollar Shave Club, Athena Club (for women), and Harry’s, which is where this post originated from. They’re subscription based so new blades are delivered on a regular basis.
So I’m walking around the WalMart pharmacy section looking for the razors. I’m not sure if it’s a thing but the razors, not including the disposable packs, were all locked up behind a glass display in the center of one of the aisles. So long story short, I found the Harry’s brand there. Boxes and boxes of handle sets and replacement blades. One color, charcoal, was being discontinued and was on sale for $2.50, with the blade packs coming in at $4.50.
So, yes, I’m thrifty, or cheap, so I went and found the Walmart employee and tried to explain to her in English what I needed. She came and opened the case and I cleaned them out. Over the next two days I stopped at other Walmarts and cleaned them out as well. I’ll be able to shave cleanly until I’m 100 years old.
But, here’s our story, well mine because by Walmart #3 Theresa had given up on the chase. But as I looked for that security case, like a kid at an Easter egg hunt, I came across one with a security camera sticking out of the top of it.
As soon as I glanced inside looking for those Harry’s boxes my mind got twisted up like a pretzel for a second…..”Wait, that’s a vibrator?”. “Thats a cock ring?”.
“Astroglide?” “Plan B pills”. Then I saw the huge, no pun intended, selection of condoms. Then next to them was
“The Stroker”. “The Bendy Vibe” and “The Sucker”. And thats when I literally said out loud, “What in the South Carolina f$&k is going on down here?”. I can only imagine similar reactions caught on that camera which sat just above the glass case and my head.
But then there was one product that stood out which had a “medical” kind of use attached to it. It was “The Plus One”,
which was labeled as a “Weighted Kegal Excicisor”. In nursing we teach women to do kegal exercises to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles to reduce the occurrences of stress incontinence. Yeah, right.
So this was all a bit shocking to me as most of these type of items are usually found in adult stores. You know the ones that have the windows covered over with all types of warnings plastered by the front door. The last time I went to an adult store, was, well last month. It was when I was down
in Florida visiting my Mom and had to find an adult coloring book for a tricky tray gift that I needed for our employee Christmas party. Let’s just say I saw similar items that were in the Walmart secured case displayed openly at that store.
So I guess I wonder why there’s a difference between what we find at adult stores and a place like Walmart. Why are products kept out of eyeshot in one place and just behind the glass in another? Cigarettes and condoms used to be kept behind the cash register, now they’re locked up and under the watchful eye of a security camera.
So needless to say I can tell you that you can go to Walmart- at least in South Carolina - for all your family planning and sexual pleasure needs. You no longer have to reluctantly park in the back of an adult store and hide your face as you open the door to the den of inequity.
I guess times have changed, or maybe it’s just a southern thing. Needless to say I can’t wait to get back to New Jersey to check and see if the same things are offered at our local Walmart. Hopefully they’ll still be blowing out those Harry’s charcoal handle razors.