Be Careful On Aisle Six

Fry's is a Silicon Valley electronics emporium that has branches all over the country, most of them decorated in outlandish themes, from an Aztec temple to a Hollywood Martian outer space tribute. We've been going to the ancient Egyptian installation in Campbell for years, and I never realized the decor was intentional--when I thought about it at all, I simply assumed they had taken over the building from some extinct fraternal organization that liked mummies and pyramids. Today we happened upon the Palo Alto store: The Wild West. Still naive, I assumed they'd found a large defunct restaurant and just moved in, but it was so bizarre that I had to ask a clerk what had formerly been in the building. That's when the truth dropped: each Fry's location has a theme! I guess marketing wouldn't be too pleased with me. Perhaps I'm not the typical customer. The store was filled with odd cowboys and horses, all somewhat dusty and strangely proportioned. I'm wondering if a road trip to see all the venues would be anyone's idea of a lovely vacation.