Ron The Hunter-Gatherer
July 5, 2000
7:27 a.m.
So we go to the grocery store yesterday. I don't know how it is in your town, but the traffic in Columbus, IN is almost nonexistent on July 4th. I guess it's because everyone is either already out of town, or out at a friend's house bar-b-cueing or whatever. Regardless, the stores are pretty much dead. Usually I don't go to the store with Lisa. The first thing I see is a stand of Hostess cupcakes. "We could buy cupcakes," I said. Lisa ignored me and went to get a shopping cart. I imagined a shopping cart full of Hostess cupcakes. Yeah, I know, they're probably filled with enough preservatives to remain "fresh" for the next 700 years. So what? We went down the fresh fruit and veggie aisle. I saw the magazine rack. I could go there, I thought. No. That wouldn't be good. That would probably be seen as abandonment. I looked at Lisa. She was squeezing a squash or something. Definitely abandonment. There's a live lobster bin in our grocery store where a pair of lonely lobsters seem to constantly hang out. I assume they are not the same lobsters every time, though they always seem to be in about the same places, and look the same to me. Teenaged kids, I think, run the place today as there isn't anyone under thirty working in the entire store. I noticed this the last time I was in the grocery store, too. That time it was kind of late in the evening, and I counted something like fifteen kids loitering around in grocery store uniforms. "We could get some ice cream," I said. "Or some cookies." Lisa grumbled something unintelligible. We get to the check out counter. "Oh, Three Musketeers." They looked quite inviting, their silver packages all lined up in organized little rows. I actually remember when they were in white packages, and their chocolate covering wasn't as thick as it is now. Three Musketeers are the price I exact from Brigid for carrying around her Halloween bag each year. "Do you want junk food?" Lisa says, looking expectantly. "Because we can get junk food if you want it." "Well ... I guess we already have cookies and fudge at home," I said. "And there's all the gorp you and Brigid made." Gorp, for those of you unfamiliar, is a really tasty combination of Cheerios, peanuts, and M&Ms (and occasionally raisins and whatnot). "Yeah," Lisa said. "Let's just go home." The cashier rang us up. "I'm not bringing you to the store any more," Lisa said as we walked away into the parking lot. I just shrugged. That's what she says every time.  Brigid Counter: 4 Days Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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