At long last, my hometown of Benton, Ark., has a Best Buy.

That opened this weekend and we went over and had a look today. I have included a photo of my kids, 11-year-old Michael and 7-year-old Brenda as proof.

Yes, they're squinting because the sun was terrible. But I had to get a photo of the sign in the background, so I told them to suck it up, quit whining and hold still.

They did as they were told. Remember -- sacrifice is important. Particularly when I'm the one not having to sacrifice anything.

At any rate, you may be asking yourself, "Uh, what's so great about a Best Buy, The Hawg?"

Good question. A Best Buy in this town is a great thing for at least three reasons. First of all, there's the benefit to the tax base. The Best Buy is part of a rather large complex that opened last year. It includes stores such as Target (wonderful because I hate Wal-Mart), a PetCo, Moe's Southwest Grill (best burritos on the planet) a Chili's, a McAlister's and a host of other places.

That tax revenue is split between Benton and Bryant, so both cities have received the benefit of all that commerce going on over there.

By the way, McAlister's sucks. If you're starving and McAlister's Deli is the only restaurant within 10 hours, keep driving. That dump is the home of the NaSandwich® (Nasty Sandwich) and I had the pleasure of choking down an ice cold French dip on rock hard bread before going to Best Buy today. The citizens of both Benton and Bryant should get angry, rise up and shut down that dive. They should do it soon, too. We don't need that kind of crap in my town, right?

Anyway, the second benefit of Best Buy is that is underlines the fact that Benton and Bryant are growing. Saline County is just southwest of Little Rock and, as such, we get a lot of people moving here who have jobs in Little Rock but don't want to live there.

Third, there's less chance of getting hit with a stray bullet when shopping at the Best Buy in Benton than there is when you go to the one in Little Rock. I work in Little Rock, true, but I really hate all the crime that's gripped the city.

Just last week, KATV morning anchor Anne Pressly was savagely beaten in her home in the Heights Area of Little Rock and died from her injuries. Just last month, a couple of Waffle Houses in Little Rock were robbed by a gun-wielding crumb -- the robberies took place within five minutes of each other and the thug even stopped long enough to order a sandwich during the second robbery.

The less time I have to spend in Little Rock, the better. The new Best Buy gives me one less reason to hop in my car and head up there. Here's hoping we get a few more stores in Benton that are currently unique to Little Rock -- we could use the tax revenue, the convenience and the safer shopping experience.