Comments on just up the pike: the wonder years were set in white oak, sort of

My other least favorite day at that Sears. I went...

2009-03-11T11:11:00.000-04:00

My other least favorite day at that Sears. I went in to buy a hand truck that I'd seen on the Sears web page. I printed out a picture of it with the item number and so forth. I found the right section of the store. The clerk told me that he knows that they HAVE hand trucks, has even seen them, but doesn't know where they might be NOW. I asked him to ask his colleagues. His co-workers all agreed that this was the right section of the store, that they'd all seen hand trucks, but that no one had any idea where they might be. They suggested that I come back a different day when other staff were on duty, that they might know.

So, I drove to Strosniders in DTSS, asked for a hand truck, was shown a few kinds immediately, picked out out, and bought it.

Terry: The reason you got the humongous TV is beca...

2009-03-10T19:37:00.000-04:00

Terry: The reason you got the humongous TV is because all of the ones that anyone could carry had been run off with. Pilferage and attrition, dontcha know.

I love the bricked-over entrances.

2009-03-10T13:23:00.000-04:00

I love the bricked-over entrances.

That is now possibly the WORST Sears store I've ev...

2009-03-10T10:58:00.000-04:00

That is now possibly the WORST Sears store I've ever been in. My first experience there was bizarre. I went in to buy a TV that they'd advertized as on sale. Completed the purchase, went to wait in purgatory, excuse me, Customer Pick Up. Forty minutes later, a man comes out from the back and said that they realized that they don't have that TV in stock and he offered to sell me the next size up for the same price. Fine. Back to the TV department, cancel the sale, buy the next larger TV at the smaller TV price. Back to purgatory, where I wait about 45 min this time. The store manager comes out from the back this time to talk to me. Well, turns out they don't have the larger TV either. He says that they'll sell me the next largest size for the small TV price. Ok, fine. Back to the TV section. Cancel the purchase of the middle sized TV and buy the big TV at the cost of the small one that was on sale. Back to purgatory. I only waited a half hour this time, and shock of my days, the TV comes up from the back and a man wheels the box outside for me. I pull up my compact car and the box looks larger than the passenger compartment of the car. So, we unpack the TV, pull both seats forward, slide the TV in on a hope and a prayer, and it just makes it. I drive home with the passenger seat leaned forward and my drivers seat pushed way too much forward, giving me the posture of a boiled shrimp.

I pull up in front of my apartment. OMG, how the heck am I going to get this thing out of the backseat? Push, shove, angle, it finally slides out. OMG, this thing is heavy. I made it to the front door, but had to rest. I made it across the lobby but had to rest. Up the elevator, into the hall, had to rest. Made it to my door. More rest. I get the TV into the apartment and push it in front of the entertainment unit. OMG, it won't fit. The TV is wider than the trim on the edge of the opening. I had to pull out the entertainment unit, take the back off, and slide the TV in that way.

The plus side is that I got a great deal on a huge TV. The downside, boy was that a tough day.

According to contemporary Washington Post stories,...

2009-03-10T07:21:00.000-04:00

According to contemporary Washington Post stories, the White Oak Sears was the largest in the Washington area when it opened, not the largest in America. Carol Black may be remembering it incorrectly.