On Saturdays I do my weekend grocery shopping at WalMart. (Most of my grocery shopping is done on Monday, but the fridge is too small to hold all the food my teenagers eat in a week so I have to make a Saturday trip.) Anyway, Cal went with me and we bought cilantro for Saturday night salsa—I make tacos on Saturday evenings with homemade salsa and guacamole. I bought evaporated milk for “Frozen Hot Chocolate,” a new recipe I found that looks divine. Basically, I filled up the grocery cart.
Normally, I get in and out of the store without too much trouble. Okay, given that I shop at WalMart, there’s always some issue, but today was worse. Every odd person in the Chattanooga area was shopping at WalMart while we were there.
First, I saw a biker dude with a greasy braid down his back. I wouldn’t have looked twice except he was hiding behind aisles and peeking around corners. And to make matters worse, I saw him doing the same thing last week! Eeeuw.
Next, a skinny, gray-haired woman kept blocking the food aisles with her cart and body. It would have only been obnoxious, but she was having a loud conversation with nobody. Before you ask, no, she wasn’t wearing a phone earpiece. But she did have a glazed expression in her eyes. And no matter where I shopped in the store, I couldn’t get away from her and her aisle obstruction.
Finally, at the checkout, I thought we were safe. But a man came and stood right next to me at the self-checkout. And he just stood there in the corner of my peripheral vision about a foot and half away. Um, hello, personal space?!
While we were in the store, Cal said to me, “Uh, do you think a shuttle from a psych hospital just dropped off a load of people?” (I had a horrible experience at a park in Connecticut where this happened.) I didn’t see a hospital shuttle, but maybe I need to find a new WalMart.
I avoid WalMart for pretty much this reason--though the checkout girl I get when I do go is so nice she almost (almost) makes up for the loonies.
ReplyDeleteYeah...I think all Walmarts have their crazies. This one lady went into the ladies room and told everyone to wear diapers because they were taking too long...
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you should blog about this, since our visiting grandparents were just talking about it this weekend. My grandmother had just come back from grocery shopping at WalMart. After we put away the groceries we sat around the table with some of the ice cream we had just gotten and she told us about all the weirdos she had seen. My granddad said that one comedian he saw always started his act about telling the audience the things he saw at WalMart.
ReplyDeleteSorry. In my last comment I accidentally said 'about' instead of 'by'. Hopefully you skimmed, but in case you didn't, I meant 'by'.
ReplyDeleteWalMart on the first days of the month is the best days to character watch, get fashion tips and listen for arguments. I know, that's my family.
ReplyDeleteCan I come over for homemade salsa and guacamole? It would be worth the long drive. :)
ReplyDeleteMmmm... Saturday Mexican Meals sounds truly delicious.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I've had those days. I tell the kids we don't shop at night just for those reasons!
ReplyDeleteWe have a relatively tame Walmart here in Laramie but even it will turn out some interesting folks once in a while - I recently ran into a couple having a very heated argument in the frozen food aisle. You could hear them all over the store. And that's a big store!
ReplyDeleteNow, you simply must blog about the pysch hospital at the park incident!
Sorry, Margo, it's a little too icky to tell.
ReplyDeleteHere in NC I try to stay out of Walmart as much as I can. I prefer to use the local supermarkets when I can. Glad your hubby was with you that day.
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