Ticked Off Tuesday

Here's a new thread...its called Ticked Off Tuesdays or TOTs.
I try to be positive about most things and I think I do a relatively good job of seeing my glass half-full instead of half-empty. But those who know me know that my greatest fear is that as I get older, I will lose the decorum I work so hard to maintain and become the grouchy lady in the nursing home who alternates between singing Amazing Grace at the top of my voice and spewing profanity at my caregivers.
In an attempt to avoid this, I've decided that maybe its okay to vent a little now and then to blow of some of that steam before I just erupt like Mt. St. Helen. But since I tend to do everything in excess, I'm limiting myself to one rant per week, hence the title "Ticked Off Tuesday".
Here's my first one:

Recently, Hometown decided to allow liquor sales in grocery and convenience stores within the city limits. I realize this may sound odd to some, but for as long as I can remember, we have been a "dry" town. Its not so much that I have a problem with the new legislation, its just that all of our stores and gas stations were not designed to accommodate both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Now that they are all scrambling to "retro-fit" their space to allow for beer and wine, it is almost impossible to find just a plain Diet Coke.

Every convenience store in town now stocks the glass wall of refrigerators with 42 different kinds of beer and wine. We're rednecks for heaven's sake, do we really need so many choices? I say, just pick the one with the shiniest can or the NASCAR endorsement and everyone will be satisfied.

The worst part is that all the sodas have been banished to small, portable refrigerated units in the back corner of the store. Honestly, I went into one place yesterday where my choices were Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Diet DP and 7up. Seriously. Every other beverage in the store was alcoholic. And to make matters even worse, they were OUT of Diet Coke!

However, the icing on the cake, or perhaps the olive in the martini, has to be that they took the McDonald's out of Wal-Mart in order to make room for beer and wine. When my kids were little I'd get them fries and a sprite from McDonald's because it was located at the back of the store where I begin my grocery routine. It bought me just enough time to get the items on my list without any weeping, wailing or gnashing of teeth. Boy, am I glad my girls are old enough now that I can go while they're in school so I don't have to explain that Happy Meals have been replaced with Happy Hour!

So there you have it. The first installment of Ticked Off Tuesdays. I don't know if it will be a regular feature, but you're welcomed to play along. What ticks you off?