Olive Barred

My friend Patricia recently wrote a blog about what she refers to as big box stores (You can read about it here http://patriciagarry.com/blog/nfblog/?p=811 ).  I have listened to her talk about this before, but never really understood it.  I mean a store is a store.  Right?  

But as I stood in the Newport Krogers today, understanding began to dawn.  There was no sense of urgency or joy to be found in either the shoppers or the employees.  I chalked that up to the snow at first.  Carts parked haphazardly in the aisle so that no one can pass.  Their drivers oblivious to the line of carts now 4 deep on both sides of the aisle.  This repeated in every blessed aisle.  The Kroger employees restocking in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday taking up the ends, the aisles, every spare bit of space.  Or worse, the employees shooting the shit while their flats full of food sat there blocking the way.  

I managed to contain my temper by reminding myself that it's snowing and close to the holidays, at least until I reached the bar full of Mediterranean goodies - olives, baba ganoush, peppers, tabouli.  This is one of my favorite places and my guilty pleasure to be able to sample the great selection of olives or bring home some edamame hummus.  When I broke free of the congestion and got to the olive bar, I was appalled to see a 10 year old boy up to his wrists in the olive bar with his bare hands.  ::shudder::   I watched in disbelief as his hands went from the olives to his mouth and back numerous times.  He was certainly old enough to know better.   I wanted to smack his hands so badly with a wooden cooking spoon like my Mom used to when she caught us sampling out of the cooking pot.  Where was his mom?  She was standing right there talking on her cell phone and ignoring this amazingly unsanitary and disgusting action.   So too were the employees.  I went up and asked him to please stop that as nicely as I could.  He glared at me and continued defiantly.  I opted not to get olives.  May never be able to get them again that I won't wonder what booger eating little shit has had his hands in them today.  

It was at that moment that Patricia's blog began to make sense.  People here are not looking for things to nourish their family.  They are not engaged in the activity at all, most are somewhere else entirely.   No thought to what they are buying.   It feels a place where people have given up.  And it explains why I sometimes have an overwhelming urge to cry when I am there.  Maybe she is right and it's time to shop somewhere else.

NB - the major exception and saving grace du jour was the young man at the checkout.  Engaged.  Alive.  Laughing with the bag boy as they tried to guess the number of items in each person's order, but still competently getting his job done.   Just trying to make what could be a tedious afternoon of bitchy customers more fun.  Interesting to watch people's demeanors change as they interacted with this duo.  Smiles.  Laughter.  That at least felt good.