When I got to my daughter's dance class yesterday, the teacher informed me the girls were making drums, and that we were supposed to have brought in a coffee can or a round oatmeal box.
Well, it seems I didn't get the e-mail, so I rushed off to buy a container of oatmeal, since I don't drink coffee. The dance studio is in an unfamiliar part of town for me, but I had seen a Wal-Mart sign on the way there that was just a few blocks from the school. I found the store easily enough, but as I turned into the parking lot, lo and behold, it revealed itself to be a double-decker parking terrace! At a Wal-Mart!
This Wal-Mart is close to the interstate in an industrial area (I now know this Wal-Mart is called the Salt Lake City Wal-Mart, although there are approximately 3.5 billion Wal-Marts in the metro Salt Lake City area), so I wouldn't think property values would be high enough to warrant a parking terrace, but who am I to second-guess the ghost of Bill Walton? I think we can be reasonably sure Wal-Mart wouldn't spend money on a parking structure unless it had to.
At any rate, for all I know, there are thousands of Wal-Marts across this earth that have attached parking terraces, but this was the first I had seen, and for some reason, it filled me with inexplicable joy. My hopes were dashed, however, when I realized the ramp leading to the second-story terrace was blocked off with what looked like orange police tape. There was no explanation given--just the tape and some orange cones, sure indications that I was not to proceed.
| First level of the Salt Lake City Wal-Mart parking terrace. |
I parked, instead, in the darkness of the first-story lot, which was odd, because I'm used to seeing sunlight--or at least moonlight as I walk into a Wal-Mart. But as I passed into the entrance where all the carts are stored, I got another surprise--this Wal-Mart had an escalator! And it was functioning! It only came down--there was a regular stairway that one presumably used to go up--but it was an escalator! In a Wal-Mart! This was even cooler than the two-level parking structure.
Since I was under time pressure (Miss Sarah had said they would start making the drums in fifteen minutes), I ran and found the oatmeal box and paid for it. Then I ran up the stairway next to the escalator to take a peek at the second-story parking terrace. The doors leading outside were locked, but I could see the empty lot through the glass. It looked like a wonderful place to park. I hope that whatever red tape is holding up its use will be resolved quickly to the satisfaction of all parties.
After gazing a few more moments at a potential second-story parking space for my Nissan Altima, I took the escalator back downstairs. Oh, the sheer joy of riding an escalator in Wal-Mart! The surrealism was just too much. I wanted to grab an umbrella and pretend I was in a Magritte painting.
Alas, as all good things do, my ride came to an end. I walked back out into the darkness to my car.
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