Looking For The Special Chicken

Today, my partner and I decided to go to another grocery store, only because they had a sale on. I have noticed that along with everything else, chicken has gone up in price. Gone are the days when I could purchase it for under a $1.00 per pound. Typically it ranges from $2 to $3 per pound. So when we saw chicken at $1.37 per pound, we just had to go, and get some, plus extra's. We loaded up the truck with our reusable bags, (we didn't want to pay 5 cents per bag) and off we went. Now most days, going shopping has been an adventure. Today was no different. We arrived at the store, found the correct change to release a shopping cart from the rack stack. Getting a shopping cart is a hit or miss proposition. I hate the ones where one wheel is stuck or refuses to travel as fast as the others. Today's selection had a slight pull to the left in which the operator, me, have to compensate for. Partner wanted to check the vegetable section first for any deals. Since we had not been to this store in a while, the store decided to re-organize the fruit and veggie section. After a few minutes of wandering around, we gave up as we were here for chicken, primarily, and check if other items were reasonably priced. I expected the chicken area to be busy with shoppers, who like us, wanted the deal. To my surprise, no one was there. We moved in for the kill, so to speak. We anticipated a limit of how much one could purchase. Again, surprised, no limit. We got as much as could fit into our fridges freezer. So far so good. We might actually get out of this store quickly. We would brave the cereal isle. First mistake. Down the entire isle, there were only three others with shopping carts. Lots of room for all. As we made our way down the isle, we stopped at the hot cereal section as they were on sale. Within no time, I was blocked in with one shopper on my left that was milling about. Another shopper down the isle just had to be where I was to cut off my going forward escape route. The other shopper further down, disappeared around the corner. Good! I contemplated reversing but that escape route was cut off by an incoming shopper. Ahhhhhh, trapped. OK, mill about looking at the hot cereals selections. The flavour that the kids liked were sold out, of course. The sale was good, so we picked two different kinds, in the hope that they might like it. I noticed a space opening up in front of me. Shields up, prepare for warp travel Scotty, I thought to myself. I would have told my partner what I was thinking, except she already thinks I have lost it. No sense in fueling that fire. Made it through to the regular cereal section. As luck would have it, some sales. I have noticed that kids go through cereal like there is a world shortage. And with four of them scarred to death that this might be their last meal, I guess they eat extra. With that in mind, we get the large box of cereal. Now the smaller boxes have some sales, so it only makes sense that there might be sales on the starved family size. I look up and down the quarter mile of choices as partner does the same. OK, where is the family sized ones? Oh, just a bit further down the isle. I break out my invisible binoculars, to look, ah, yes there it is. We head down, get a couple of good deals. I look up and carts are closing in. I tell my partner it's time to go, I mean really time to go as I have to go to the washroom. She sighs, not again. Hey, what can I say, nature calls. OK, she will head out and secure some margarine while I deal with nature. I leave partner with the slight pull to the left cart, head to the customer service desk to obtain the key. The lady tells me, no key needed. It should be unlocked as long as one is using the washroom. Great deduction, but I say nothing, and head over. I get there, and an elderly gentleman is just leaving. He has a cane. I move over to my right to let him pass. He moves toward me. I scoot left, he goes that direction. I stop, figuring either we'll dance, or he might just make it by me. With the dance over, I enter the washroom. After nature is taken care of, I go to the sink to wash my hands. I'm confronted with a huge blue sign telling me to wash my hands after using the toilet. Now, I have a problem with that, not with the sign, a problem with people using the bathroom, and having to be reminded to wash their hands. Mental note, no shaking hands with anyone, unless I know for sure they are aware of the concept of hand washing. I leave, and partner is heading my way, looking perplexed. She informs me that they don't have the margarine that she likes and refuses to pay double the price for a name brand kind. 

"Did you pick up the milk?" I asked.

"Oh no, I forgot about that," she says.

"OK, we can go back and get it," I say. Off we go. I want to check out the margarine to see what they have. The kind that we would have picked up is completely cleaned out. Next we get the milk, in which we have a discussion about the price of 2% vs 3.25%. There is a 50 cent difference. Partner has the 3.25% milk jugs out, two of them. 

She says, "OK, make a choice," on whether to save a dollar or stay with what she has removed from the cooler.

"Let's try the 2% kind," I suggest. She nodded and attempts to put back the two jugs, except, they won't go back up the inclined rack. The milk jug is fighting her.

"OK," I say, "let's take what you have." I figure that is easier than struggling with the un-cooperative rack. We load the milk and head for the check-out. Now, you would think that the incidents would end, not so. But if I continue, this will soon turn into a short story. And besides, we still had one more grocery store to go to. In the end, we got the chicken.