Speaking of April Fool's Day, Dan Harmon just showed the much anticipated first episode of season 3 of Rick and Morty unbeknownst to anybody. Love the show, and you'll probably see a large part of the internets explode with happiness as a result.
Missouri is borderline south. My property is in Dent county, right in the middle of the Ozarks so I imagine I'll fit right in. As far as accents, I grew up in Idaho, but at times I have a heavy southern accent because of being around my family from Mississippi. If I'm drunk or tired I sound like a complete hillbilly. The southern accent is a lazy way of talking and when I'm drunk/tired I'm lazy and talking that way is just easier.
I tend to think of Missouri as the Midwest, but what do I know? I spent all of 48 hours in St. Louis and a geriatric-filled weekend in Branson.
I'm in St. Clair county, but I grew up in Bates county. I don't think I have an accent at all. I consider Missouri the Midwest. Definitely. Though most the people who grew up here who consider it the south fly confederate flags on their pickup trucks, so I don't consider their opinions very heavily.
Usually I speak what is referred to as "Unaccented English"....like the folks on the national news. When I moved to Mississippi I was told many times about how I have a heavy accent. I spoke to fast and didn't say "Bless your heart" enough apparently.
Another question: How has Bass Pro not died yet? I'm a 15 minute drive from one. Apparently, it's a "destination" (according to tourists I meet there). I just go look around when my wife is at Nordstrom's Rack next door to kill time. Literally every single thing there I can either buy on Amazon for $10-20+ cheaper, or for the guns and fishing equipment, get at Academy or Dicks for cheaper. Or if they don't have it I can just ask them to get it for me. But I've seen people (in-laws, part of the reason I hate them) who when I say "nice shirt" and I really don't mean it because they've gotten fat and disgusting as hell and I'm starving for any way to compliment them that doesn't make me look like a dick, they say "thanks, got it at bass pro" like that's supposed to make their Columbia fishing shirt they're wearing no where near water seem like a logical and a smart decision.
I honestly have no idea. The only times I've gone into Bass Pro since I quit working there was to take my kids in before Christmas for the free Santa photos. When I worked there I got a pretty decent employee discount but I can't say that I've been tempted to shop there since. I will say (again) that I met Kevin Costner while I was working there so it was worth any and all bullshit that transpired.
They bought Cabela's. In Canada, they are the only real outdoor store of any consequence. I've always thought of Bass Pro as the cheap version of Cabela's, and I think Cabela's has a very strong (and well deserved) reputation for quality.
That being said, it looks like the acquisition is a bit rocky: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/18/bass-pro-shops-acquisition-of-cabelas-now-looking-shaky.html
Maybe it's because I had no actual exposure to Cabela's (and probably also because I was on the payroll) but I always thought it was the opposite. I do remember when I was working in the gift department and someone tried to return a Gander Mountain blanket. I was glad I didn't work Customer Service at the time because I would have had a hard time telling the customer that we couldn't exchange a rival company's store brand.
Of all the many, many reasons this board has presented me with for moving to Canada, this one makes me want to rupture my ear drums with a kabob stick. Within a 15 minute drive there are (I just counted and sure I forgot a few smaller ones) 11 outdoors stores. And at all of them (again, just the 11 that I know of/visited), I've gotten some version of the following from employees there "no go to [competitor] for [xyz you're looking for], that's not our specialty, but come back to us if you need help!" It is a-fucking-stouding. Also every one sells firearms, I case I wanted an impulse buy. But at least y'all have all of the other shit together.
Someone at BPS told you to go to the competitor?! I have a hard time believing that. I've worked at the gun counter and the gun range at the {enter pomp and circumstance} Wold Headquarters of Bass Pro Shops and I have a hard time believing that you would ever be referred to anyone else. I'd say maybe gun laws were a consideration but you live in Texas, right? I can't imagine that Texas gun laws are stricter than Missouri, which are practically nonexistent.
The only other 2 stores that sell outdoor gear are Mountain Equipment Co-op (which is a very eco-friendly granola-munching hiking/camping shop), or Canadian Tire. Canadian Tire sells a minimal amount of firearms/ammo/hunting gear, but nowhere near the selection or quality of BPS or Cabela's.
No, bass pro I was looking for coon traps actually and this dude said try online. Everyone at the gun counter thinks they're hot shit. Even though BPS is consistently at least $50 higher than their competitors, one of which is in the same shopping area.
So, who picked Gonzaga vs UNC in the final? I mean, besides me. Booyah, Tournament Challenge group. FEEL ME!
I don't work for them anymore so I can't say shit about the prices. I won't argue with you that they're priced higher than competitors because I just don't know. I will say that the most fun I've ever had working there was at the gun counter and gun range. I've worked everywhere from the marketing department, to the cash registers, to the gun counter, to the corporate cafeteria at BPS. It was a pretty formative part of my post-hghschool youth. I'm still sort of mad that I didn't apply for a management position that might have kept me in Springfield instead of moving back to my home town. Yet here I am, 9 years into a good-on-paper-but-shitty-in-real-life job. Oh well, pays the bills.