On a long drive from Clovis, New Mexico, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a family reunion, George and Maggie Powell made a pit stop in Sevierville, Tennessee, that they will long remember.
“Several of us needed to go to Walmart and the nearest one was in Sevierville,” Maggie says. “We finished our shopping and went to a checkout counter.
My husband had purchased beer, and the checker asked for his ID.”
The fun began when George showed the checker his driver’s license. “I’ll have to see your passports,” she said.
The Powells weren’t expecting this request, and George asked her to repeat it. “I can’t sell you beer without seeing your passports,” she said.
Guessing the source of the checker’s misunderstanding, the Powells segued into a geography lesson. They explained that they were not from a foreign country but from New Mexico—“One of our 50 states, between Arizona and Texas.”
The checker was adamant. “I know where Mexico is. These are Walmart’s rules, not mine.”
When the Powells threatened to go to another checkout counter, the checker relented. “I’ll go ahead and finish checking you out this time, because if I don’t, you’ll be held up for more than an hour.”
“It was obvious to us this was not a Walmart rule, but a case where the checker had no idea where New Mexico is,” Maggie says.