Sunday, August 12. I’d call it the best day of the year so far, and it’s all thanks to K-Mart. Going to K-Mart can be a depressing prospect these days; the proliferation of Wal-Mart in recent years has left the competitor in a bad way. The employees usually seem unhappy, like condemned prisoners hoping for a last minute call from the governor they know in their hearts will never come. Things are often disorganized in the store, with stacks of unshelved merchandise here and there in the aisles. But none of that matters anymore, because K-Mart offered me my salvation.

I was in the store at about 8:30 or so on Sunday night. I don’t even remember what I went in there for because once I saw what I saw it completely consumed my entire being. While most of the seasonal display section was devoted to that phrase that strikes terror into the heart of every child, the dreaded “Back to School,” tucked carefully away in the middle of it all was one little rack that brought a smile to my face rather than a grimace. It was a rack of candy, all surrounded by pictures of bats and the words “Happy Halloween.”

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