Dollar Will Make Me Hollar

Mark took me shopping today. Another hated activity that I am constantly finding myself being roped into. The itinerary today was B.J.'s, one of those places that you have to 'join' so that you can shop. I don't know how much money Mark saves at B.J.'s but I think he has to buy a lot just to make up for the forty five dollar fee. But that’s not what has me all atwitter. No, it’s the Dollar Store Mark dragged me to before we went to B.J.'s. As we pulled up to the Dollar Store I noticed a big sign that said, “Everything One Dollar!”
“Really, nothing over a dollar in there? If I find something that they try to charge me more than a dollar, can I make a big scene at the checkout?”
“No, and don’t embarrass me.”
It’s nice to know that Mark is capable of being embarrassed, considering how many times I’ve wanted to crawl into a hole while he went berserk. So I’m wandering around inside the Dollar Store, and it seemed to me that most of the crap on the shelves isn’t even worth a dollar. Up and down the aisles I went, looking at garbage, looking at things that I wouldn’t even pay fifty cents for. And then I saw it. Toothpaste. The very same toothpaste I had paid three dollars and fifty cents for just the day before. Sure, I felt like a hypocrite as I dumped half a dozen on the checkout counter, but they were only a dollar!
“Did you check to see if those were produced in the United States?” Mark asked.
“Uh, no. Where would they be made, and why would that matter?”
“Just saying, some places don’t have the same high standards as the U.S. does.”
I suppose that is an important consideration. And I guess if my teeth start falling out, or I have some other problem with the toothpaste, I can always use the money I’ve saved to pay my dentist. But, the were only a dollar.