On a prior post, I had stated that a new business was coming to town, a discount outlet called Ollie's. I had personally never heard of them before so I went online. YouTube to the rescue...as is customary now that people do walk-thru's of different types of stores...then upload them to their channels.
I had to go to the post office on Wednesday and found their ad in our mail. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to drive by to see how many cars were there considering it was during the week when most people are working or in school.
This new store is located in the former Walmart building which now houses three stores...Dollar Tree, Harbor Freight, and now Ollie's. There were a lot of vehicles there for that hour of the morning and I saw a couple with two shopping carts loading their trunk and then heading back to the store for more. Though I had no intention of going inside this piqued my curiosity and I thought...why not? I was already there anyway.
This store is set up kind of warehouse-style. The place was jammed packed and it was difficult to go down aisles as they were so small two carts would touch. I took a couple of pictures but other than e-mailing them to myself or linking my cellphone to my computer...which I am NEVER going to do I will just have to remember to take my old cell phone with me which defeats the purpose for buying a new one.
While they did have reasonable prices I can get more bang for my money at Dollar Tree for things like cereal and cleaning supplies. Housewares like lamps, bedding, cooking utensils (I do not cook), and As Seen On TV items I find more reasonable at DD's and Fallas.
There was a long line to sign up for their free membership card but you had to give your date of birth, mailing address, show your driver's license and you got a free reusable tote bag. With all the security breaches that have taken place lately...I decided to pass on their kind offer.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Aunty Acid
Civics 101
Amazing how much information companies want from you in exchange for dubious benefits. And the number of people that freely provide it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have a new option in town.
Today, The New York Times published a sad and disturbing article about events in your area:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/17/us-mexico-border-texas-migrants-bridge
Oops, here's the NYT link:
Deletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/us/texas-migrants-del-rio.html
I am amazed at how freely people give out their personal information for what you so accurately described as "dubious benefits". It is nice to have a new option to shop at as we have very few in this sleepy border town.
DeleteThank you for the NYT link they do an excellent job of covering news from this corner of Texas. We currently have news media from all parts of the state as well as major networks like CNN.
This is not new as human traffickers have always channeled Haitian, Cubans, and immigrants from Congo and Africa through Del Rio. The surprising thing is the large number reaching the border all at once.
Good NYT follow-on piece:
Deletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/us/del-rio-texas-migrants.html?searchResultPosition=2
Hachita while I was able to read the first link it is not letting me read this one. It tells me I have to have a subscription.
DeleteI need to go to the local library in the coming week and will try to read it there using one of their computers.
Thank you just the same.
I emailed you the article text as a Word file.
DeleteThank you so much Hachita!
DeleteSo happy to see your post this morning! I have missed you.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen an Ollie's store. I agree with you about not handing them all your personal data and cannot believe people are so stupid as to giving scammers a free ride. But I see it all the time. The same people hand over their personal info to the astrology folks to get a free chart. Even if the astrologers are legit, their accounts are probably easily hacked.
I have seen your city and mayor in recent news articles about having over 10,000 refugees under the bridge. I cannot imagine how they are going to handle this growing problem. You know Covid has to be running rampant and how are they even handling feeding and hygiene? I am sure most of these poor people are good hearted, but with those numbers there is bound to be a few bad apples. Probably some planted to incite problems.
We were at 29* here this morning when I got up. It doesn't feel all that cold, oddly enough. It is supposed to be a high of 70*. We finally got some clear skies after so many months of smoke in the air.
The price of groceries here would shock you right out of your socks. I usually only venture out on Sunday mornings to shop and go to the post office. A few are wearing masks, but most aren't and there are so many touristas that I just hurry in and out as quickly as possible.
It has been oddly satisfying to read on the news about how many anti vaxxers and anti makers are being affected by Covid. Except when you know how it has affected the health system and the workers who never thought they would have to deal with this much stupidity. Horse former is thinning the ranks of the 4 5 crowd. I feel as though I am in some alternate universe.
Love your Auntie Acid and jokes, as always. Say, do you read Vivian Swift's blog?
Take care my friend, and stay safe.
Writing a blog is not as easy as it looks especially when you live in a small town where nothing much happens and topics tend to get repetitive. I have been doing this for a little more than ten years and burnout sometimes sets in. With that said, it must be a "slow news day" much like it was in 1998 when Del Rio got flooded and I was getting calls from people and relatives I had not heard of in years.
DeleteThe large number of immigrants is alarming but at least they are under the shade of the international bridge, the city has set up port-a-potties, they have the Rio Grande to take a bath and wash clothes. Many are crossing back and forth into Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México to purchase food and water. Though the situation can get out of control soon as it did when Mexican Immigration officials tried to put down several caravans that entered Mexico through their border with Guatemala.
I am envious of your temperatures not even in winter (except for this past February) does it get down to 29 degrees in the mornings. We might set or equal a record today per KSAT-12 news as it was 101 degrees at 4:00 p.m.
I am still shocked that while prices have gone up it has not been to the level I see on the news for other states, we have been lucky in that respect. While masks are no longer mandatory, I am glad to see that at least some people continue to wear theirs.
I too could care less if all those anti-vaxxers die the real heroes are the health care workers who are exhausted from treating these idiots. Our Texas hospitals are on the verge of collapse.
On your recommendation a few months back I started reading Vivian Swift's blog but it has been a while since I have checked it out. I used to go online after midnight but I started going to bed no later than 10:30 p.m. so blog reading had to take a back seat to my need to get a good night's rest.
It is official we set a new record for today at 102 degrees per the 5:00 P.M. news.
I am glad you enjoyed Aunty Acid and Civics 101...:-)
Sounds like and interesting store, but I'm not into crownds these days. And I never heard of this store so guess we don't have any here. But if things are cheaper at Dollar Tree then heck I woud stick with them.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this establishment until I saw the sign going up in the storefront. I heard a customer mention that she and her husband enjoyed shopping in the San Antonio store. My neighbor in Houston said they had recently opened one near our house.
DeleteI believe the crowds were due to it being the grand opening. It will be a while until I go back as I do not like crowds or long lines especially with Covid lurking around even though I wear two face masks and a face shield.
I don't like to be in crowds either, even smaller ones. But I'm sure sick of being at home so much. My daughter is living with me, and her husband is living with his mom while waiting for their new house to be built - est. Dec. 23rd. The two granddaughters go back and forth from one grandma to another! It means my house is always in an uproar, crowded and messy. With 5 brothers and 2 sisters, that's how I grew up, so it isn't a big deal to me now. (Well, maybe a very small deal!)
ReplyDeleteI hope a solution can be found soon for the immigrants from Haiti. I'm certain that if they were from a country like Canada, or a European country, help would be quickly found for them. As it is, they don't stand a chance.
Just look at the big picture you will soon have your mother-in-law suite in the lovely new house your daughter and her husband are having built. Time goes by fast and Christmas will be here before you know it.
DeleteI agree with you if these were not Haitian immigrants but from a European nation, they would have already found a place for them.
We had a similar crisis during the former administration and you did not see the local Trumpians protesting at the bridge like they are now that Val Verde County went red in the 2020 elections and they want to exploit the national and foreign media coverage that has converged in Del Rio.
Where were these protesters when the Trump administration was snatching babies from their mother's arms? I must mention that many of these children have never been reunited with their parents.
Deportation flights to Haiti have already begun and these poor people think they are being flown to other cities in the United States.
I think it was the Texas Tribune website that said the Haitians were using Whatsapp to get organized. I'm not even sure what Whatsapp is, but....so glad to have you back.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you mean by "having me back" as I never left. I just don't post as often.
DeleteI should have said, "so glad to see you posting again."
DeleteSheesh.