07/02

With each gust of wind, water fell from tree tops onto the tin roof with percussive musicality. A gentle reminder of the storms that battered us the day before. My socks and shoes still soaked, we had a short 5-mile hike into Waynesboro. This was our last stop before entering the Shenandoah’s and a much-needed resupply. We checked into our hotel conveniently located between a shopping center and a few chain restaurants. The summer heat has been brutal, and I was desperately looking for any way to cool off. My hair had grown long, and when sweating, became a suffocating snood. I found a Great Clips just down the road and decided it was time to cut it off. The girl inside was young, but I trusted her expertise. I just wanted a simple, shorter style, nothing too complicated. She began buzzing the sides of my head, and I should have known I was in for it when she took it a little far up on the sides… but I said nothing and removed my glasses so that I was blind to the assault. When she finished, I put my glasses on and couldn’t help but laugh. I’ve had plenty of bad haircuts and at this point have just gotten used to the shame. I looked like Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables”. She cut my hair so short that there was an uneven bald spot on the left side of my head. I shrugged it off and told myself that I have 3 months in the woods to grow it back out. I walked across the street to Walmart with my tail between my legs and grabbed some snacks and ramen to get us through the next few days. Somehow, no matter what I get from Walmart, I always leave paying $100 or more. I know it’s not groundbreaking news, but the price of groceries (even literal junk food) is outrageous. There’s no justification for it other than corporate greed. Our current system is broken, and despite what either side of the political aisle says, the root of the problem is our economic model that prioritizes profit over people. It’s disgusting, and something needs to change. We all know it. We all feel it. “Corporate America” is killing us all. While companies like Walmart show record profits year after year, average people can barely afford the poisonous, overprocessed “food” on the shelf. But I digress. I left the store feeling as though I’d just been robbed, and we got dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Another example of consumerism at its finest. Overstuffed, we waddled back to our hotel and tried to get some rest for our long week ahead.