I work this coming Memorial Day weekend, which should be interestin', as it always is during any holiday at the store.

The things being talked about most at the store the past 2 weeks are these:

1. Gas prices; over $2.00 a gallon. A customer is getting one of those electric/gas cars (it's on order) and I'm curious to see the car and maybe even go for a ride around the block in it. Real estate workers claim they don't go around showing houses as much as they used to... not sure why they wouldn't, because housing prices have gone up more than gas, so they must be making more money per house sold.

2. Prisoner of War torture pictures... some customer said "Well, we demonized the Iraqi people to such a high level, it's no shock our army guys did that to them..." I think he was refering to the burnt body being slung over the bridge photo from weeks earlier. The more photos that come out of Iraq, on both sides, the more disturbing conversations get at the store. I saw one guy wiping tears out of his eyes while reading some piece about the beheading of Nicholas Berg. Two other customers were talking loudly in disgust about the American soldiers who posed nude prisoners in the human pyramid. When customers respond to newspapers this openly, the impact is strong. Other customers eagerly pipe in. The store becomes a debate center.