By the by, I'm not letting the locals off the hook in this process. My Dad was probably typical in that he loved the arrival of Walmart.

But I remember he used to love going into Masterson's St.Clair Hardware and chatting with the guys. They treated him with deference, called him "Doc", and exchanged dirty jokes with him.

Somehow I doubt the clerks at Walmart would call him anything but "Hey, you," and probably wouldn't exchange dirty jokes. In fact, I suspect they'd be fired for exchanging dirty jokes.

But I don't believe that Dad ever once thought that his two loves might be incompatible.

"Hey, Honey, sorry I haven't seen you for awhile.... You know I love you, but you're really expensive and high maintenance. I've found this really cheap tart that gives me everything I need. But you hang in there, Baby. I like having you around...."