The Devil Made Me Do It !!!!

Okay, this one'll be a bit of a rant tonight. Not about the weather (It actually turned out sunny in spite of the "blizzard" forecasts), but about those nuts at the grocery store, again.

So, everybody was predicting heavy snow for this area again. For our immediate neighborhood, the forecasts ran from about 6" right up to 14". They always joke that Baltimoreans all seem to hoard bread, milk, eggs and toilet paper in a storm. I can understand the perishables and those are things we tend to go through quickly but I've never understood why most people don't seem to keep any spare T.P. on hand. I mean, do they calculate out exactly how much their family uses in a week and only buy that much every week? I mean, do they count out the sheets or what?

Now we didn't need any of that stuff, before a storm that may keep us in, we want things like chocolate, pretzels, ice cream and fruit. So, since we were out of bananas, I trekked off to the store. I knew the mad dash would be on, so I set out early.

My preferred grocery store is a stand alone (doesn't share a parking lot with other stores). The lot was about 3/4 full when I arrived. I won't ride around a lot looking for a close space but happened to score one only a few spaces down a prime aisle.

Going into the store, I noted a snazzy new-looking Cadillac parked at the curb in the fire lane. It was not only illegally parked, it completely blocked the cart ramp. That ramp also happens to be the handicapped access ramp that corresponds to the adjacent 12 handicapped spaces. When I came out, 15 minutes later, that Caddie was still blocking the ramp. My order was small so it wasn't a problem for me but there were at least three folks with absolutely full carts that needed to drag them down the entire length of the store ( a pretty great distance) to the ramp at the other entrance and then trek back up the parking lot to their cars. Two of those were elderly ladies parked in handicapped spaces. They should not have been so inconvenienced.

As I pulled out of my space, I saw a very nicely dressed businessman come out of the store and approach the Caddie. He had a small deli bag and a soda bottle in his hand .

So, here's where that devil showed up and gave me a shove. (I don't usually do such things.) I pulled along side the inconsiderate clod's car and called out, in one of my sweeter voices, "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" He smiled and strolled over and said, "How can I help you?" (Bet he thought I needed directions!)

I know my voice changed when I said, "How come you think you have a right to park there and block the handicapped ramp? Do you know how far folks have to go to get to the other ramp because you're too lazy to actually park?" He looked a little stunned, and held up his lunch, saying, in a very defensive tone, "I was just running in for a few minutes to grab a sandwich."

I came back with, "Well, I just ran in for an entire grocery order. You were there when I went in and there when I came out. What'd you do get a 5-course meal?"

(Okay, maybe I did exaggerate about how big an order I bought.)

There was a little old man with a cane standing there watching this discussion. With that he applauded! This caused Mr. Fancy Driver to simply turn and retreat quickly into his car.

I did actually feel a little embarrassed about this confrontation but then, I was tucked safely inside my big vehicle so I felt a little powerful! Know what? It felt good!

I had reason to go to several other shopping centers that day (not for groceries, though) and, at each one, there were several cars parked at the curb when there were plenty of available spaces on the parking lot. A number of these had folks sitting in them waiting for their partners to finish their shopping and come out. That is just so inconsiderate of the other shoppers. It just causes so much congestion when they do that!

I can understand making things easier on on your companion. I often pull in and drop The Big Guy at the door to save him the walk, however, I then pull down onto the parking lot to park and wait. When I see him come out, I pull back up and pick him up. It's not a difficult concept!

What makes folk think they have a higher authority than everyone else?

Okay, got that off my mind. I feel better now.

Hope y'all have a good day and, please, be considerate of your fellow shoppers. They too have demands on their time and energy and most would rather be doing something else.