January 31, 2015

Errand day today. While Fridays are our usual choice in hopes of avoiding the weekend crowds, the inclement weather yesterday was enough to dissuade us.
So off we went this sunny, blustery morning, bundled in our warmest jackets zipped to here, scarves wrapped, gloves donned, boots snugged, with our to-buys and must-do’s tucked safely in a pocket.

Traffic was normal for a weekend day—busy but flowing, but the stores were another story.

“Ah yes!” Charlie taps his head, “another snowstorm is coming, and Super Bowl is tomorrow…” I nod grimly, and off we go. He drives, I lead, pausing here and there to select items, before we push on to the next aisle. The atmosphere is bustling with commotion—music, shopper chatter, the constant hum of machinery: meat slicers, refrigeration units, heater fans, to name a few.

Tension is high. Is it that people are really that worried about another 18 inches of snow, or maybe that their Super Bowl guests won’t like the wings and dip? Few smiles, irritated dispositions, and rudeness abounds. Me? I’m worried about getting through the store with my faculties intact! Not to mention limbs and derrière!

You’ve been there too, I’m certain. There are the dodgers and weavers who fly through the aisles as though they are the only ones in the store, oblivious to everyone around them. And of course the bumpers and get-out-of-my-wayers that assume they can push their way through despite who (or what) they run over in the process. And the aisle hoggers that stop their cart in the middle of an aisle while they bend down to peruse the chili cans at leisure, effectively blocking traffic in both directions. Do you wait patiently until they notice you’re trying to pass, or move their cart, risking the wrath of how-dare-you, or well… become a bumper and weaver yourself! Oh the dilemma!

Merchant reasoning eludes me when it comes to cardboard display racks in the middle of aisles, not only hindering but effectively stopping traffic, and this when there’s hardly room to meet the oncoming carriages as it is! Seriously? And couldn’t the stock-carts be unloaded before or after hours on a day like this instead of parked smack in the middle of an aisle, or worse, at the very end? They are full of boxes that you can’t see around, risking a head-on collision with one of the weavers or fliers coming pell-mell from the opposite direction.

Seriously! Grocery store traffic signals might be a life-and-limb-saving investment on days like this. Okay. Rant over. We made it through checkout and, with our purchases bundled, we fairly flew across the parking lot (more to do with the wind and cold than our athletic prowess, mind you) and loaded our goodies in the car.

Whoever invented garages deserve great kudos on a day such as this. We pulled in, sheltered from the wind—oh thank you great garage discoverer—and began the unloading process.

Hot soup and feet-up time are also on my gratitude list today. [yawn]
Snow? Super Bowl? Sure. Bring ‘em on. For now though, a nap sounds about right.