I am starting to think driving to Fred Meyer to save a buck isn’t worth it. The downtown grocery store, which is very close to my house, tends to be a lot more expensive than Fred Meyer, so I typically make the 15 minute drive to Fred Meyer to save a few bucks. Weighing in that even with the extra gas used to get to Fred’s, it’s still probably cheaper since Fred Meyer has the cheapest gas in town.
I am usually annoyed by Fred Meyer. Mom’s drive their carts through the store like it’s the Indy 500 and if you’re not careful while idly pushing your cart down the center aisle, you’re likely to get side swiped by a 5’3” 80 lb woman wearing running tights and a sport bra while pushing her cart at Mach 8 just so she can reach the check-out line and stand in it for 15 minutes.
The store itself is so huge that if you’re over by the deli and remember that you’re going to need sauerkraut to make your Ruben’s complete, you’re going to have to walk all the way back to Germany to get it. I oftentimes just scratch it at that point and give up.
That’s just the inside. The outside is a zoo as well, complete with its own exotic animals. Shopping carts are littered all over the parking lot (which I hereby publicly declare my biggest pet peeve) and I’m always coming back to my car to find carts jammed up against it. And, people drive like madmen. I actually was in an accident a few years ago when a drunk driver thought it was a good idea to drive down the lane at 40 miles an hour. Granted, it was my fault because I backed out into traffic and hit him while he was driving by. But as soon as I said we should call the police, he quickly said it was okay and jumped back in his truck and weaved gingerly away.
Today was no exception. I had just about completed the trip and I was quite proud of the fact that there had been no run-ins when I was loading up my groceries onto the belt and it happened. In the line behind me was a man in his late 60s in one of the mechanical shopping carts. He was flirting innocently with Aurelia who was cooing and smiling back at him. He struck up a conversation with me about “back in the day.” He told me how he remembers when he could buy a week’s worth of groceries for $20. He said he could fill his car up for $1.57 and drive it for a week. I laughed and agreed and told him those days are missed. He then said what really gets him is the price of cigarettes and how he wished they were still cheap too. This is where I should have just smiled and kept my mouth shut. Instead I said, “Well, I actually don’t mind that if it might help deter a few people to stop smoking.” Then, out of nowhere, a woman behind him in her early 50s piped up and snapped at me saying, “You’re not a smoker so of course you don’t give a shit about how much people have to pay to smoke.” SCREEEEECHHHHH!!!!! What? Who are you and why are you screaming at me? Once again, shut up Frances, don’t say anything. But before I knew it I said, “You’re right, I’m not a smoker, but I am a cancer survivor and I don’t appreciate inhaling second hand smoke. Plus, I have friends that smoke and I wish for their health, they’d stop because I don’t want them to get cancer.” She then pulled her shirt collar aside and exposed a freshly accessed port with a bandage over it. She yelled, “BIG F@CKING DEAL, I’M GOING THROUGH IT NOW, WHAT’S YOUR F@CKING POINT!?”
There were many points I could make, but I decided to keep it calm. I looked at her and calmly and with true concern replied, “I am really sorry that you’re going through chemo now, it’s not fun and I hope you do well and you have a good outcome.” She then said, “Oh, now you’re just playing your God complex, you think you’re holier than though, don’t you?”
My mom has drilled into me that you just never know when someone is going to go completely crazy on you and pull out a gun and cap you over taking the last cream cheese on the shelf. Knowing this woman could very well be on the verge of using her shopping cart as a weapon of mass destruction on me, I sealed my lips. However, my silence just egged her on. She continued to rattle off insults at me loud enough for all the shoppers in the area to hear. I tried to block it out but I heard her say things such as “I was a survivor too, but on my 10 year check, it came back…..” “You just think you’re so wonderful, don’t you?” As I was leaving, I apologized to the elderly man for what happened and he said, “No worries, but just so you know, I’ve been smoking for over 50 years and I’m healthy as an ox.” I looked at him in his automatic cart, while he gasped for air, I smiled and said, “I hope you stay that way.” Then I turned to the checker and apologized, he smiled at me and said, “I’ve seen worse.”
I went out to the car and was shaking so badly I could barely buckle Aurelia’s car seat straps. I didn’t want this woman’s behavior to bother me, but it did. I kept telling myself I handled it well and that she probably isn’t this angry, but she’s probably on steroids which makes anybody angry. And besides, if she just had chemo this morning, why is she at the grocery store by herself? Shouldn’t someone be picking her cigarettes up for her? (Okay, that was uncalled for) But seriously, it was definitely an unexpected occurrence that I never want to repeat again. I think it’s worth paying extra to boycott Fred Meyer for awhile and stick to my own neighborhood grocery. I’ll be doing my part in the green movement by shopping locally, and saving gas.
