Chance Meeting at the Grocery Store

Chance Meeting at the Grocery Store

I usually try to do the grocery shopping on Wednesdays.  I will go to Aldi first to check out their produce because they often have some pretty good choices for less money.  Then I will do my bulk shopping at Kroger.  Now I go to Kroger on Wednesday for a very good reason.  It is Senior Citizen Day, which means all senior citizens get an additional 5% off their purchase, AND they have free coffee and donuts/cookies for the patrons.  Wednesdays are usually the busiest shopping day they have, obviously.

Because of Senior Citizens Day every Wednesday, I have had the opportunity of meeting some pretty interesting folks.  A couple of weeks ago I had an encounter with an elderly lady in the parking lot that will be remembered for a long time.

As usual, I pulled into a space that was located right next to the empty cart deposit.  I do this, of course, because I don’t like to push the cart any further than necessary.  Sitting in her car right on the other side of the cart lane was the elderly woman who appeared to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 125 to 135 years old.  As I gathered my shopping list, the coupon binder and the pile of shopping bags, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the lady was not moving, or at least moving very slowly.  At first I thought maybe she was listening to the radio.  I quickly dismissed that thought when I realized that elderly people don’t usually sit in the car jiving to the new number one hit in the country.

As I walked over to the cart rack to fetch the one cart that was available, I saw her car door open and watched her as she slowly pulled herself to her feet.  She appeared to be about three feet tall when standing.  That was probably due to the fact that she was so stooped that her height would have been much different if she had been able to stand normally.  I also realized that my age quesstimation was way off.  I believe she was probably closer to 150.  She started to move towards the cart rack and our eyes met.

She had this pitiful look on her face like she had just been told that the Social Security Bank had dried up.  I just looked at her and smiled and said “good morning.”

She looked at the cart that I was pushing and then up into my eyes again.

“Oh!  I see you got the cart.”  She said.

“I’m sorry,” I offered.  “I didn’t realize you were going to use it.  Here, you go ahead and take it and I will get one at the door.”

“Well, I think we can share it, if you don’t mind.”

I immediately got this picture in my mind of the two of us walking around the store holding onto this cart and filling the basket with both of our shopping items.  I was about ready to say that I really didn’t think that that would work, when she offered an explanation.

“I try to park next to the carts, because I need to hold onto them so I don’t fall down…just until we get into the store, then I will get my own cart.  I just need a small one.  Land sakes, this cart is so big, the food I’d put in it would get lost.  Besides, we could walk along together and visit…that is, if you’re not in a big hurry…I don’t walk so fast.”

I smiled and offered her half of the push handle of the cart.

“Besides,” she added.  “It would be quite a spectacle and probably way too much stimulation for some of these old people around here to see this old woman writhing around on the pavement trying to get up.  I’m not sure, but I don’t think I even put on any pantyhose this morning.  I’d hate to be responsible for giving some old guy a heart attack.”  Then she let go of an impish little laugh.

She was so cute, how could I resist?  We hobbled across the parking lot together sharing our stories of arthritis, diabetes, various other aches and pains, grandchildren, shopping at Kroger, where they give people free coffee, and various other senior experiences.

When we finally made it to the entrance, I helped her get a small cart, she said, “thanks for the lift” and was off.

I smiled and scratched my head, then headed for the coffee set up, but had to wait in line for the little mystery lady.  She was not to be denied her free cup of coffee.  She looked up at me and said, “We are going to have to stop meeting like this, people will start to talk.”

Now I had to laugh.