THE ERRANT SHOPPING CART
Hey there sagacious reader. I have often wondered about all the shopping carts that are left willy-nilly around parking lots and sometimes even inside stores. I have my ideas on what's behind this mystery as I'm sure you do.
I find the ones left abandoned inside grocery stores the most perplexing. Where are the people who propelled them to their current location? It could be the produce department, the bakery, or down the canned soup aisle. Apparently there is no rhyme or reason to the abandonment of shopping carts.
One day while grocery shopping I came upon a cart with a few "goodies" in it sitting smack dab in the middle of the bread aisle. I could tell by its contents that it wasn't waiting to be 'restocked', and there were no employees in the immediate area. In fact there was no one in that aisle except me. And yet there it sat, right in the middle of the aisle. All alone; forlorn, forgotten. Curious. I took my time perusing the many different baked goods on display keeping an eye out for whoever may come to claim it. I stole surreptitious glances at the cart taking special note of the dairy products and fresh veggies that it contained. I don't know about you but I wouldn't leave my perishables hanging around for long unless I absolutely had to. (An emergency trip to the bathroom comes to mind.) My curiosity was piqued.
I must have spent a good 5 minutes or so in that aisle. Still, no one came. For me, time was up. After all I still had my shopping to do. I moved on. A little while later, on my way to check out, I passed by that aisle. The cart was still there. Wow, really? So much for those dairy products. By that time they had surely warmed to room temperature and were ready for the trash (at least I hope so).
I still wonder about the original operator of that cart. What happened? Was the checkbook left at home? No cash or credit cards? Forgotten coupons? Alien abduction? Who knows.
On to the shopping carts abandoned in parking lots that I find most irritating. Now I know I'm old and cranky but I can't see any legitimate reason for people not returning their carts to the cart return corrals provided or if none are provided, returning them to the store. (Whew, that was a really long sentence; I'm exhausted!)
I have seen people load their groceries or what-nots into their cars and then leave their carts right there in the parking space. Really? You can't walk the 10 feet or so to the corral and put your cart there? Afraid you might lose a pound or two? Most of the people I've seen would benefit from the exercise. (Listen, can you hear it? ... Moo) How lazy can you be? I return my carts all the time, even in the rain, and I'm one of the laziest people I know. (Don't tell anyone, ok? It's a well-kept secret.)
The absolute worst thing is when you're in the parking lot of a busy store where finding a place to park is difficult to begin with and you see what you think is an available space. Then, just as you're congratulating yourself on your good luck, you find a stupid shopping cart parked right in the middle of your spot. Aargh! I hate that. I suppose if you drive a clunker you might consider using your car to shove the offending cart out of your way. But most of us choose not to go that route.
And if you're alone, just getting out of your car to move the shopping cart is a pain in the ass. You can decide to be nice and pull up and over to the side thus allowing all the other cars hunting for spaces room to go around you. But if you do this, beware! Because as soon as you get out of your car and move the cart out of the way, some jerk will invariably take this as an invitation to park there. It won't matter one whit that you were obviously moving the cart so you could park. People are like that. Most of em can't tell their ass from a hole in the ground.
A few people do leave their cart somewhat out of the way, parking it to the side of the parking space instead of smack dab in the middle, giving you enough room to squeeze into the spot. Whether or not you will be able to open your door, well, that's not their problem, is it? After all, what's another door ding or two? (Buttheads)
In closing, I say to those who abandon their goodie-laden shopping carts in the middle of grocery stores, What happened? Where are you? And to those who litter parking lots with the carts they are either too self-centered or too lazy to properly return, I say BITE ME!
I find the ones left abandoned inside grocery stores the most perplexing. Where are the people who propelled them to their current location? It could be the produce department, the bakery, or down the canned soup aisle. Apparently there is no rhyme or reason to the abandonment of shopping carts.
One day while grocery shopping I came upon a cart with a few "goodies" in it sitting smack dab in the middle of the bread aisle. I could tell by its contents that it wasn't waiting to be 'restocked', and there were no employees in the immediate area. In fact there was no one in that aisle except me. And yet there it sat, right in the middle of the aisle. All alone; forlorn, forgotten. Curious. I took my time perusing the many different baked goods on display keeping an eye out for whoever may come to claim it. I stole surreptitious glances at the cart taking special note of the dairy products and fresh veggies that it contained. I don't know about you but I wouldn't leave my perishables hanging around for long unless I absolutely had to. (An emergency trip to the bathroom comes to mind.) My curiosity was piqued.
I must have spent a good 5 minutes or so in that aisle. Still, no one came. For me, time was up. After all I still had my shopping to do. I moved on. A little while later, on my way to check out, I passed by that aisle. The cart was still there. Wow, really? So much for those dairy products. By that time they had surely warmed to room temperature and were ready for the trash (at least I hope so).
I still wonder about the original operator of that cart. What happened? Was the checkbook left at home? No cash or credit cards? Forgotten coupons? Alien abduction? Who knows.
On to the shopping carts abandoned in parking lots that I find most irritating. Now I know I'm old and cranky but I can't see any legitimate reason for people not returning their carts to the cart return corrals provided or if none are provided, returning them to the store. (Whew, that was a really long sentence; I'm exhausted!)
I have seen people load their groceries or what-nots into their cars and then leave their carts right there in the parking space. Really? You can't walk the 10 feet or so to the corral and put your cart there? Afraid you might lose a pound or two? Most of the people I've seen would benefit from the exercise. (Listen, can you hear it? ... Moo) How lazy can you be? I return my carts all the time, even in the rain, and I'm one of the laziest people I know. (Don't tell anyone, ok? It's a well-kept secret.)
The absolute worst thing is when you're in the parking lot of a busy store where finding a place to park is difficult to begin with and you see what you think is an available space. Then, just as you're congratulating yourself on your good luck, you find a stupid shopping cart parked right in the middle of your spot. Aargh! I hate that. I suppose if you drive a clunker you might consider using your car to shove the offending cart out of your way. But most of us choose not to go that route. And if you're alone, just getting out of your car to move the shopping cart is a pain in the ass. You can decide to be nice and pull up and over to the side thus allowing all the other cars hunting for spaces room to go around you. But if you do this, beware! Because as soon as you get out of your car and move the cart out of the way, some jerk will invariably take this as an invitation to park there. It won't matter one whit that you were obviously moving the cart so you could park. People are like that. Most of em can't tell their ass from a hole in the ground.
A few people do leave their cart somewhat out of the way, parking it to the side of the parking space instead of smack dab in the middle, giving you enough room to squeeze into the spot. Whether or not you will be able to open your door, well, that's not their problem, is it? After all, what's another door ding or two? (Buttheads)
In closing, I say to those who abandon their goodie-laden shopping carts in the middle of grocery stores, What happened? Where are you? And to those who litter parking lots with the carts they are either too self-centered or too lazy to properly return, I say BITE ME!
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