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| One of two Big K’s on St. Thomas. They were a major shopping center presence on St. Croix as well. |
Goggle-eyed, we wandered through the two-story Kmart in St. Thomas. It’d been 7 months since we’d shopped stateside. We were in culture shock – from our own culture!
“Oooh! Look at all that shiny stuff! Buy me! Buy me! Buy me!” Fitted sheets. Gum. Sunflower seeds. An odd assortment of non-essential stuff. We spent over an hour shopping there, and Wayne is allergic to shopping.
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| Sandra Lee’s spiffy designer kitchenware at Kmart St Thomas. |
Sure, in the Pacific NW we might pop into a “Tar — jhay” aka “Target” to buy basics, I might meander Macys if looking for fancy frocks on rare occasion.
We never expected Kmart, bastion of near-abandoned shopping centers back home, could be so, well, hip. Hot tv divas’ Paula Deen (pots and pans) and SandraLees (designer kitchen utensils etc) spendy products adorned Kmart’s neatly arrayed shelves
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| Paula Dean’s Signature Collection at Kmart St. Thomas; $34.99 for one square griddle pan. Ouch. I was tempted, but not at that price. |
Outside, dozens of smart phone tapping, netbook noting, iPad pinging and laptop loving locals sprawled, lapping up the big K’s free WiFi as eagerly as a thirsty dog laps water on a hot day.
Who knew? The Big K… “Tar — jhay” of the Caribbean. There is no Macy’s here. You can’t buy Goya’s mixed veg on sale for 99 cents in Macy’s stateside and I’ve no need for fancy frocks these days.
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Just a small subsection of the usual dozens of Big K WiFi surfers scattered about St. Thomas’ Lockhart Shopping Center square. |
