I went in 10Box on Wednesday. I try not to go there on that day, because it's when ads come out. All the handicap spaces, and those regular spaces along the front of the store, were taken. So I parked out in the lot to wait for someone to leave. I was next to a cart return that held two carts. As I was contemplating using one as a cart/walker, and just staying there, an employee came over and took the carts. Nope! I was not going to walk unaided across that lot, and halfway across the store to their inside cart corral.
Within five minutes, a guy came out. He looked pretty able-bodied to me, but DID have a handicap plate on his car. He stowed away his groceries in the back seat. Pushed his cart up against the front of the store. Greeted his woman who came out with nothing in her hands but a purse. Then they got in the car and backed out. You can bet I had T-Hoe revved up to go get that space.
I rushed to perch my glasses on my head and get out. I was so afraid some do-gooder was going to grab that cart before I could get to it! An older woman walked past it. And then a young couple. I nabbed that cart and headed inside. Where it was indeed crowded. I had to wait for a looky-loo to finally move past the lemons. Her cart blocked the whole aisle, and had to go out of my way around the onion/potato bins to get there. Huh. Lemons were 48 cents apiece. While limes were 10 cents. I got 10 limes. They go well with Shasta Zero Sugar Cola, too. Of course I had to backtrack to find a bag. I also grabbed a pack of shredded slaw mix from the cooler.
One aisle over, I picked up a box of Maple Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal. And a box of strawberry protein bars for Hick. That was it. I had four items. Well. If you count the bag of 10 limes as one item. Which I do.
Only two checkers were open. One had just finished with an old guy in a beeper cart. He was slowly putting his stuff in bags. There there was a guy with a full cart, and a lady with a 3/4 full cart. I was directly behind her, but down an aisle. People coming from my right, across the main aisle, couldn't really see that I was waiting, though I could see them. They might have thought I was just shopping. Or waiting for room to pull out and continue through the store. Two of them stopped. I guess they were putting themselves in line.
So I turned my attention to the next line, a bit to my left. Still three customers ahead of me. With partially full carts. I pointed my cart/walker in that line. An older lady coming across from the left saw me. She wheeled her cart down my aisle and got behind me. Then a 40-something good ol' boy in jean shorts (it was 66 degrees on Jan 7!) and a baseball cap, with a full cart, wheeled up to the side. Like he was just waiting there for his turn after us.
One of the managers came up and opened a third register. "I can take someone over here!"
Good Ol' Boy was in that line like he had been shot out of a cannon! Ain't that the way it always goes? The last person in line becomes first when a new line opens! The people already in the other lines made no move to go over there. To be fair, they did not have a clear path, and seemed satisfied that they had staked out their "almost-next" positions.
Older Lady behind me said, "Do you want to go?"
"No. You can go ahead."
She only had one item in her cart. A big bag of birdseed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
Older Lady got behind Good Ol' Boy. I wheeled up behind her.
"Oh, no. I feel bad. You were ahead of me!"
"It's okay. You have less items. I'm fine with it."
Such a sweet lady. Willing to wait with her birdseed for me to take my rightful place in line with my four items. As for Good Ol' Boy... I'm not sure there's hope for humanity if he rules the world. His behavior did not surprise me at all.
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