As you know, I’m not a huge fan of leaving The Compound during the busy parts of the day. I don’t like standing in line for stuff. Plus I tend to get edgy in this neighborhood when I see too many vehicles with Bush stickers. (Why are they here? Leave us alone!)
But sometimes duty calls, and today, I made a way overdue trip to the grocery store. I thought it wouldn’t be crowded. A lot of people are off today. I figured they’d already done their ham and egg-dyeing buying.
Boy, was I wrong. But it wasn’t so bad. Especially in the produce section, when I deftly caught a red bell pepper that was trying to escape from the Kroger guy who was stocking there. He was probably my age, maybe a little older. These are the things I learned during the conversation that ensued:
1. His wife is an RN who’ll be working Sunday, so he plans to work, too. He’s been doing this job for more than twenty years.
His grown children are all out of town for Easter.
3. He misses Bill Clinton. He likes Al Gore. He can’t stand Bush. He wants him OUT.
4. He says his family’s doing okay, but he doesn’t know how other families are making it. He doesn’t understand why oil company executives have no shame about the extraordinary amounts of money they’re making even as gas prices rise at the pump and their employees’ benefits packages are shrinking.
It’s not always bad to leave the house and meet new people.
I saw the title, “Vegetable Chat.” I saw the tag, “politics.” I immediately thought, “Did the president speak tonight?”
Isn’t it amazing how we can learn so much about people just standing in line, or in your case catching a flying red pepper.
Debbi
Yes. I am hot and cold on that. Sometimes I put up an invisible wall around myself because I don’t want to be engaged. Other times, I like interacting with people.
I think this is why people call me “moody.” Whenever I am called that, btw, my mood always sinks lower than… Hmmm. I need Tim for his clever analogies.
wow we both have had conversations with our produce people this week. Weird!!!!
That is weird, and I didn’t think of it until you pointed it out. Must be something in the stars, since Marika was also cheered by her conversation at the ham store.
When learning to unlearn my social phobia in therapy one of the key mantras was that around each corner on the forest path of life, there could be wonderful new people and positive experiences, not just dreadful experiences and pessimism, which is the mainstay of social phobia thinking.
It seems like you experience was indeed one of these happy surprises on the wooded path of life.
Becky, I can so relate. I’ve been called cold and even stuck up. I’m not stuck up, no reason to be. But, there are times I just don’t want to be social or even nice to certain people. I know this is wrong, but I can’ help it…I can’t stand my friends new boyfriend. He’s an ass…See..I cant even say anything nice about him and a hes’ not even here.
Debbi