If you are expecting some kind of deep thinking blog entry you will be sorely disappointed this time.   I want to talk about Wal-Mart.

There was a story this week about Wal-Mart changing it's employee dress code.  It is dumping the tacky blue vests with the smiley face and asking workers to wear polo shirts and tan pants. 

What is this world coming to?!!  That's like taking the torch from the hand of the Statue of Liberty, or Park Place off a Monopoly board!

The Wal-Mart vest is an American icon.  It is the symbol of capitalism that underlines the vison of Sam Walton.  The vest is what saved hundreds of thousands of retirees from a life sitting and watching soap operas.  They wore that vest proudly greeting Wal-Mart shoppers. 

It is also the vest worn by single moms working 10-12 hour days trying to provide for their families. 

It is also the vest worn by some men who lost their high-paying, white collar jobs and needed that job at Wal-Mart to keep their families together.

It's so much more than a vest.  It's a symbol of supply and demand.  It's the American way.

So, when I heard the Wal-Mart vest was going away, it was a sad day.  The vests will be recycled into blankets for the troops in the Middle East, a noble cause to be sure.  But, I think, history will show us those blue vests with the big, yellow smiley face on them will be a symbol of the late 20th century in the United States. 

There is one already listed on Ebay.  Go for it.