I know. It's my second blog today.

 

I rarely stop to consider what an adventure shopping trips are because I go at least once a week. Something about the routine of it dulls my senses, but grocery stores are filled with drama. Consider all the dozens of things that happen to me while I hunt and gather, negotiate human interactions, and try to find where toothpicks might be shelved.

The store that I usually shop at keeps dish soap in the pet aisle, which is something that I accept unless I go to a different store and find that dish soap is kept with other forms of household solvents. Some things like super glue and Chap-stick are kept at the checkout counter as if to say, “We couldn't think of a good place to put this either.”

Then there are the personal interactions. Yesterday, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, a young man was astounded to learn that turkey bologna contains chicken and pork. That's what you get for reading labels. I think the reason he wanted to share his discovery with me is because I have grey hair. It makes me trustworthy I suppose. When I was younger I intended to go directly from black hair to blue, but teenagers changed my mind when they started dying their hair a rainbow of colors. After that, blue hair would look like just another desperate attempt to deny my age. With grey hair, I appear trustworthy and wise, or at least, harmless.

The young man's surprise reminded me of when I was unfamiliar with grocery stores. Since I worked in restaurants and hate to cook, I was late in learning about shopping. Imagine my surprise when, at age twenty six, I discovered that there was a cookie aisle. Not just two or three wafers and biscuits, but an entire aisle!

I usually had roommates who liked to cook, so I might tag along and learn from them once in a while. Thank you, Carol, for teaching me to fill the cart in the produce aisle first. And thank you Marilyn, or more correctly, Marilyn's mother, for showing me the value of coupons. When I was in college, I was one of the original 'extreme couponers.' Big hint- drug stores often sell food items at cost as what is known as a loss leader. Their idea is that if you come in to buy clam chowder, you will probably buy their other stuff at regular, inflated prices. I had a lot of fun living on the cheap in those days.

I might be missing out on a lot of fun by being super efficient on shopping trips. For years now, shopping has been all about lists, needs, and speed. Convenience is my most important requirement. Which is why I get aggravated that not all stores keep their dish soap in the pet aisle.

Next week when I make my necessary skirmish into aisle maze of my favorite grocery store, I will take note of the many interesting possibilities. I can't wait to see how I blog about it.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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