Saturday, October 6, 2012

turn the page

This afternoon, Mrs. Pincus and I went to the supermarket. It was not the market that we regularly go to, but it is in the neighborhood. The configuration of this particular market was not well thought out when it was in the planning stage. There is a narrower-than-usual buffer aisle that separates the checkout area from the rest of the store. For some reason, the store was very busy and the amount of customers wishing to check out caused a bottleneck in the buffer aisle. With full shopping carts pointed every which way, gridlock was occurring every few feet. No one wanted to give up an inch, in fear that their place in line would be compromised. The situation was not good. Not good at all.

Suddenly, a rather large man came barreling out of a grocery aisle. He was pushing a wheeled walker, the kind with a padded seat across the front. And he was pushing that thing faster than someone who requires a walker should have been. As he moved, his head was down and he repeatedly hollered "Excuse me!," although he was not allowing enough courtesy time for anyone to clear out of his way. He literally plowed through the crowd, bumping into and spinning shopping carts. Several shoppers were physically shoved aside by the man as he cut a path into the group.

My wife and I finally made our way to the self-checkout area, rang up and paid for our groceries and exited the store. Just outside, we saw the man sitting on the seat of his walker. He was enjoying a cigarette. I suppose he was just in a rush to contract cancer.

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