Not Big Red, Too! Is the Economy to Blame?

How can it possibly be?  There I was at the local discount big box store in town with all my little treasures in hand when I thought I would grab a big pack of Wrigley's Big Red Chewing Gum at the checkout counter. 

And that is when life, just like the economy,  went tumbling downhill just like an Olympic downhill skier.

I checked five checkout displays.  Yes, five!  And not a one of them had Big Red.  There was a host of the newest flavors on the block, but not my beloved Big Red.  As I was moaning in the aisle, another customer asked if she could help me find the gum.  Soon, she was moaning, too.

Despair sank in as even the checkout girl was shocked not to find our beloved Big Red at the checkout display. 

Now I know that the Sammy's corporate folks have recently finished redecorating the store and they have lost lots of items that I love to purchase.  Catch the hint--  I'm spending more time at the other Big Box Discount store in town now.  But, how could they eliminate Big Red at the checkout display?

So, I ran to the other big box store to gather the items no longer found, thanks to the remodel at the first big box store.  And---  again, there was no Big Red at the checkout display!

Has the economy gotten so bad that people don't want to experience the fresh feel of Big Red as they pop the gum into their mouths?  Do the corporate types really think I want a strawberry mint gum or some other silly combination?

Who makes these decisions?  Is it a corporate deal or does the local manager decide which gum his/her customers want?  Come on, Big Red has been a top seller for Wrigley for YEARS, and it is the only gum I will consent to chew for a few minutes when I feel the need.

I haven't been able to bring myself to go back in the stores and look way down deep in the bowels, er, racks.  Nope, I've been on the edge of despair.

Oh, my Big Red.  Where can I find you at the checkout counter?  I miss you.  I need you.  My breath just isn't worth taking without that wonderful spicy cinammon flavor. 

Arrgghh.  I may even have to give up driving my car.