Outta my way!

Ambling is a disease that seems rampant around here. In the ordinary course of the day, I am NOT an ambler. I walk fast and determined. I am generally on a mission. Problem is, the world around me never seems to be doing the same.

This weekend I was in the big town grocery store. I have my list and coupons (yes, I do clip & use) and know where things that I want are located. I should be able to get in and out of the giant store within 30 minutes (including checkout). Unfortunately, these days people seem to go to the grocery store for recreation.

I'll excuse some of the elderly patrons who can barely walk and who use their shopping carts as walkers, but what is the problem with everyone else? Young couples stroll hand in hand. Strangers and friends chat around the stroller (I mean shopping cart) admiring the beautiful baby. Customers huddle around the grilled food samples eating with plastic utensils from paper containers You'd think we were in a city park on a warm Sunday afternoon. This is a retail store for god's sake!

It appears that for most everyone else, a trip to the grocery store is their only form of recreation. Of course, this is just what the grocery marketing people want. They even advertise that the average customer spends over an hour there. I'm sorry, but I'm not buying into the "grocery shopping is fun" marketing ploy. Let me get my stuff and get out of there.

If leisurely shopping is what I want, I'll take the local open air farmer's market atmosphere anytime over the Muszak and free sample ladies at the big box store. But it's February and I have no other choice. So if any of you guilty ones are reading this, please get out of the center of the aisle, pull over to the side, and let the rest of us pass and get on with our business. We have more interesting and better things to do than spend the afternoon in a big box.

And while I'm at it, it would be nice to allow customers like me to self-serve check-out more than 12 items. The cashiers move slower than the ambling customers.