A trip to the local grocery store can often cause surprising results in the head. In a way, I enjoy it for the outing it provides. People-watching is always an interesting pastime. Not often you get to see inside the stomachs and lives of your fellow humans as you walk down the aisles of products apparently everyone needs. |
It’s only since the effects that hit me post-Covid that I’ve truly started to appreciate the grocery trips. It’s like being relegated to the slow lane full-time these days, but there’s no doubt there’s also room for heightened perception.
Nothing like a severe dose of Covid to ensure you’ll always be wearing an N95 mask when you go into a supermarket or any place with other people. I follow the science. Folks, the dreaded Covid is still with us. Vaccinate if you can, and wear a mask to help yourself and others. Wash your hands.
It takes time to get out of the car for the less mobile of us. I’ve gone from thinking a walking cane cannot possibly be truly useful to knowing and delighting in the confidence mine gives me! Truly amazing.
I’d read that supermarkets prefer the large ones. People buy more to put in them. That makes sense, from a business point of view.
But the owner told me the small carts bring huge problems of their own. Folks don’t return them to their corrals, (just like the big ones of course.) Plain lazy. But they actually use them to walk their groceries off-site. No thought of returning them later. So that’s why I see them scattered around our beautiful scenery, including a couple in the ocean.
That’s one of the reasons why we are all paying a lot more for groceries these days. Those pilfered grocery carts cost the owners, and ultimately us massive amounts of money.
Two days ago, at 8 a.m when the store opened, I found a plentiful supply of my small shopping carts. A smile entered my heart as I saw the owners had been working on this problem.
Yes, Artificial Intelligence is one way to apply technology to a very big problem. These carts stop automatically at the door exits if there’s anything in it that hasn’t been paid for. An artificial field at the property boundaries stops carts from exiting. Huge cost to this for everyone. Nothing is as simple as it seems.
I usually manage to get to the grocery store when it opens about 8 a.m. there are way fewer folks at that time, and a sort of convivial atmosphere between the mask-wearing shoppers greeting each other, smiling with their eyes. ( You can’t see their mouths!)
One of the best moments happens at the checkout. That’s when I quite often slip a scratch-and-win lottery ticket to the sales clerk. They love it, and so do I. The only way I can get a great reaction from spending a dollar. After all, these days you can’t even get a cup of coffee for a dollar.
I make a point of checking out the birds as they hunt for seeds to give their babies. It’s a great life. You just have to find the little things in it that matter.
Folks, be kind. Please. It’s the best kind of infectious.
Slightly imperfect, but aren’t we all?
I went to the supermarket yesterday at 8 am, to avoid the crowds invariably there later on in the day. Straight to the veggies and fruits. Glanced at the avocados. I haven’t bought one for months now, after seeing it would take $2.70 out of my pocket. But I do think of them, having grown up as an avocado-on-toast breakfast aficionado.
Then I saw some little net bags of them. I’d looked at bags similar to those before. That price had gone up to $8.99 for four little avocados. Huh!!
But this was different. A bag was going to cost 6.99, and there were 9 avocados in it!
Incredulous, I read the information on the bag.
They were no-name, naturally imperfect. Love that description. Just like most of us, except the folks who do think they’re perfect. These were all hard, not ripe, which is another huge point in their favour! They’ll gradually ripen, then be put in the fridge. I know I can savour them for a couple of weeks!
Here are the no-names! Some have been grazed by tree branches. Others are of different shapes and sizes. But, I promise you, they will all be enjoyed!