Posted by
ShiningCity on Monday, June 30, 2008 4:00:52 PM
I changed my hair color and style (auburn and short), and according to my friend, Trinkets, "it took ten years off [my] age!" I think my blood stream has absorbed the red tint and made me spicer than usual.
The Intro:
I went grocery shopping at Safeway during lunch. I am diligent about my weight and, thus, rather precise about what I eat. To the detriment of such, I adore food, especially rich, well-prepared food. So, if I'm going to be a size 4, I have to watch it. I eat Weight Watcher's Smart Ones frozen lunches (they really aren't that bad), and in the afternoons, I snack on fruits and raw vegetables. I especially love raw cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and cherries. When I run out of food in my office, it's off to the grocery on my lunch hour. Hence...
The Story:
I love summer time because we get Rainier Cherries. You know the "regular" cherries: the dark red, sometimes maroon ones--that are often mushy by the time they are ripe? The regular ones are ok in a pinch, at the beginning of summer, but my favorites are the red/yellow Rainier ones. The taste is entirely different, and Rainiers are much more expensive. Cherries, in general, are very low in calories and satisfy my need for something sweet. Today, Safeway had Rainier cherries! I picked up two pounds, filled up on Smart Ones, got some liquid paper and a mechanical pencil, and then proceeded to check out.
Two people in front of me was a woman, probably 40 lbs overweight, sunburned, with oily hair who was checking out a basket full of "tasties." You know "tasties": all the stuff you want to eat but don't because of your waist line. Pringles, popcorn, snickers, CASHEWS, ice cream, etc. She handed the cashier one plastic card after another until all 3 cards were declined. Eventually, she paid with cash. Off she went. Nobody raised an eyebrow.
Directly in front of me was an artsy-type older woman, probably late 60's, wearing sandals, tie-dyed capri pants, a tank top, a fanny pack, and a hat with a bee pin (covering very short grey hair). Her lenses were framed in perfect dark black, thick circles. Her basket was full of older-person, healthy-sort items (e.g. vitamin supplements and nuts). She paid with cash. Nobody raised an eyebrow.
Behind me was another woman wearing a tank top with at least ten pounds of extra flab on each bicep. Her basket was also full of tasties. It seems it's an epidemic.
I handed the cashier my Safeway card, and she started scanning. At the cherries, she stopped, held up the bag to my face and said, "These are $8.80/lb." I smiled, "Ok." She grimaced after placing my nearly two pounds of cherries on the scale. "It's going to be about $18 for these cherries," she said as she peered around the bag she was holding. I smiled again, this time my Winning Smile, "Perfectly fine." Slowly she laid down the cherries, and as she slid them into a plastic bag, she said, "OOOOhhhhhhhKKKKKKKKayyyyy....." shaking her head, with wide-eyes.
Now, let's review this:
In front and in back of me are elephants buying more food than they need and which is bad for their health, and one of them has overextended their credit. Another woman thinks that wearing John Lennon glasses and tie-dye is age-appropriate at 70 years. And I'm the weird one who gets a headshake from the cashier because I bought some fruit?
The Story, continued:
I said (loudly), "Well, if you think about it, those cherries will last me probably ten days. So, that's about $1.80/day. For fruit. Or, I could buy" (speaking louder) "a 16 oz. white chocolate mocha at Starbucks every morning for $5.50 and pay a lot more AND weigh a lot more!" (Flash Winning Smile again) "I like cherries." She stopped and stared at me, blinking. Then, oddly enough, she said, "I never thought of it that way. That's pretty interesting."
Who knows if she really thought it was interesting. She looked like the Mocha type, herself. Still and all, I made my point. And lucky for her, she didn't really set me off by complaining about gas prices or talking about those stupid plastic grocery bags.