A Trip to the Supermarket

While I have this bowl, it's not my cereal bowl.

I've eaten Rice Krispies for over 40 years.

Yes, that's my cereal of choice, and I rarely differ.

Of course, that's not my only breakfast choice (um, hello, Waffle House) but it's always an easy option.

Yet what's cereal without milk?

So I had to stop at the grocery store. Stop and Shop, to be exact.

My mission was short and sweet: a half-gallon of milk and a pack of honey lemon throat drops.

Gotta keep the throat in shape.

As I tried to step up to the registers, I waited for an opening at one of the self-serve checkouts.

While I don't want to be seen as antisocial, I do prefer to check myself out.

I also pump my own gas habitually, and have actually passed on getting petrol in New Jersey because self-service isn't allowed.

By all means, call me weird. I can take it.

But back to our not-spilt milk at Stop and Shop (had to use that pun eventually).

As I waited for the register, a typically detached shopper strolled right by me and up to the register I was going to use.

Not the greatest of offenses, to be clear, and certainly not something I was going to go to the mattresses over (wrong store, I know, but I'm going to mix my metaphors anyway).

I waited patiently as her order being larger than mine when I discovered the register to the far right was open.

It was an express lane, and it didn't accept cash, but that all worked fine for me.

A customer strolled away as I arrived.

I glanced at the screen at the total from the previous order that had yet to be paid for.

Before I could even consider saying something, the mystery shopper was gone into the night.

A trusty staff member walked over and, with nary a "what the hell?," she cleared the screen, didn't seem to consider the lost money (granted it was about $8), and left me to complete my transaction.

I took care of my my milk and throat drops and walked out.

As I went to exit the parking lot, a car made a left turn into where I was driving out, declining both a turn signal and slowing down. I watched her then make a second left into a row of parking in the same manner.

I was content to just get home.

We have a few snow storms coming.

I'll want Rice Krispies.

Snap! Crackle! Pop!