A Necessary Evil

According to Wikipedia, a necessary evil is anything that, despite being considered to have undesirable qualities, is preferable to its absence. Also according to the folks that run Wikipedia, shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. According to me, shopping is a necessary evil.

I hate shopping. I’m not really sure what I don’t like about it. I suppose I am a pretty frugal person. I’m certainly not a miser, but I hate spending my money on what I consider to be crap. I’m generally a people person; I love being around people in just about every situation. But when it comes to shopping, people annoy me to no end, especially the people that lazily walk from one display to another. It’s almost as if they have nothing better to do with their day than gaze at four hundred overpriced leprechaun figurines.

But today I had to go shopping. I needed to get souvenirs after all. So upon leaving the Omniplex after my last movie of the Galway Film Fleadh, I begrudgingly dragged myself through the streets of Galway and entered the Latin Quarter. I was immediately met with a crowd of people: street performers, shoppers, and (judging by the expressions on their faces) fellow reluctant shoppers. One man had a crowd of tourists around him as he balanced a unicycle on his chin. Even I had to pause and take notice. I don’t see that everyday.

I looked around the different shops and pubs, wondering where to start. I had to get myself an Ireland sweatshirt and some postcards to send to the grandparents. But I was on a mission, a mission for Claddagh rings. Before I even left for Ireland I had decided to get my two younger sisters Claddagh rings from Galway. One must make up for missing his sisters’ graduation for flying to Ireland. Claddagh is an area of Galway right on the water. It used to be its own village before Galway expanded into it. For some reason the people of Claddagh created a ring of hands, a heart, and crown that is a real hit with the tourists.

I knew what I had to do. I went straight for the original Claddagh ring shop. It is a tiny little store across from the water and sits right next door to an equally small café. I poked my head in the back door and was surprised to only see the man running the shop and two other women shopping. The shopkeeper was very helpful. He told me how it’s actually illegal to make jewelry with nickel in it in Ireland, unlike America. This was good to know. I didn’t want to buy my sisters rings that would give them green fingers. Although I suppose if you’re going to get a green finger, it might as well be from an Irish ring. I found to two rings I needed – minuscule in size since my sisters are so small – and left to continue my dreaded task of shopping.

As I stepped back on to the street I had to smile a little bit. I know how excited my sisters will be when I give them their rings. I love being a big brother. Today, the evil of shopping was very necessary for me.