U.S. Money Wire questions??? please help

First of all I am Canadian. I am looking for a way to send a Money Wire in U.S. funds to a U.S. retailer. I need to have the money order originate from the U.S. I thought about getting a U.S. bank account but I think that it may be tough to do. I have a friend in Michigan where I can have the goods sent to but I really would rather not ask him to do the transaction for me.

Any Ideas?