Thursday, June 12, 2008

at the eleventh hour...



i ventured out last night for the first time in weeks... at 11pm i threw on a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt, and some flip-flops and headed to the grocery store. we were out of everything!!!

i only went for the necessities, but ended up with a full cart. the store was about to close for the night, so there were only three or four people on duty... only one cashier. she had a back up at her cash register because the rather LARGE gentleman (seriously, think "the green mile") in the front of the line had picked up the wrong can of diced tomatoes.

"SON, I TOLD YOU, 'AISLE 2... AISLE 2'... THE CHEAPEST CAN THEY GOT OF DICED TOMATOES", the "tomato man" started yelling across the store.

there was a couple standing between me and the "tomato man". i don't usually stereotype; but, i'm pretty sure they were "crack heads" (really, they had that... skin and bones, i look 20 years older than i am, geeked out look about them that i'd seen many times before in mug shots (from meth busts) on the news).

the next thing i knew "tomato man" was yelling at his boy again... the cashier then sent one of the stock boys to find "tomato man's" boy and his can of diced tomatoes.

"tomato man" then proceeded to greet a young guy who had walked up behind me. i turned and noticed that the guy was only holding one item and asked if he'd like to get in front of me.

he did.

as the guy was walking around me, the "tomato man's" boy walked up tossing a can of diced tomatoes into the air and catching it... like, "all was good in the hood"...

the cashier scanned the can and as she handed it to the "tomato man" she said that the diced tomatoes contained diced olives, onions, and garlic.

"BOY", tomato man shook his head, "i said, 'DICED TOMATOES'. what part of 'DICED TOMATOES' didn't you understand???"
"ah... those'll be alright dad," the boy replied (he couldn't care less).
"yeah, we'll see what your MAMA thinks about that..." "tomato man" said under his breath (but where anyone left in the store could still hear).

tomato man was a loud one!!!

i had to chuckle to myself... mama was NOT going to be happy with olives in her diced tomatoes. i was sure of that:D

the "crack couple" paid for whatever they were purchasing (probably batteries and over-the-counter allergy drugs). then they left.

next up??? the guy i had let in front of me.

i had already started putting my things on the conveyor.

"that will be $1.79," the cashier said to the guy.
"what??? i thought it was only a dollar. i only have a dollar..." the guy replied.
"no, it's $1.79," the cashier stood firmly.
"wow, dude, that sign said a dollar..." he continued.

please, GOD, let me out of this store before i have a stroke!!! i thought to myself:[
i reached into my purse, pulled out a dollar, and offered it to the guy.

when he turned around to take the dollar i could see that he was buying a litre bottle of beer. further, the guy was drunk... i mean DRUNK!!! he took the 'one' from me all the while proclaiming his gratitude and saying that the next time he saw me
he promised to repay me.

"just be careful," i said. (there i'd tried to be nice, next i was afraid he would go out and have a wreck or something. it would be all my fault!!! DAMN IT!!!)

the cashier looked at me and said, "don't worry. he walks everywhere he goes. he just has to cross that street and then walk a straight line home."
he shook his head in agreement with what she was telling me.

it's a sad day when a cashier also has to wear the hat of a bartender...

"well, be careful walking home," i said. "walk straight, and don't fall into the ditch." he was soooooooooo drunk: i was really concerned:(, and all he wanted to do was profess his undying love for me for giving him a dollar so that he could get a little drunker.

finally, he left.

"i told that boy i didn't take him to raise," the cashier said to me.
"he comes here often?" i said.
"yes, and he knows good and well that the beer that's a dollar sits right next to the BIG bottle... some nights i let it slide; i put the change in for him," she said.

finally, after all of that, i tipped the bag boy for putting my groceries in the jeep, slid into my seat, thanked the bag boy again as he shut my back door, and sighed...

"WHEW friggin' WEEEEE!!!"

i came home, katherine put away the groceries, i showered and crawled into bed, and that's where i've been since:b

(note to self: dani, you should have sent john to get the groceries!!!)

love and blessings,
dani xx

30 comments:

The Adventures of Maverick & the Mrs. said...

am i going to have to tell you the same thing i have to tell my mom?! NO SUREWAY AFTER DARK, MISSY! one seriously needs to carry mace and a stun gun to go in there anymore. BE CAREFUL!

dani said...

lol, christina, how did you guess... sureway south!!! but, i was too tired to be scared at that point!!! the crowd was definitely lacking, though, i must admit!!!
l,
d

Elizabeth Byler Younts said...

quite an adventure in the grocery store...when i've ventured out in similar situation i always seem to run into a load of 'winners' also. ;-)

*just found you on Wendi's blog...I'll be back.

dani said...

i am so pleased you stopped by, elizabeth. do come back any time!!! wendi is so sweet; i feel just awful for her.
she was so cute and excited about the baby. i am keeping her in my prayers:)
hugs,
dani

Tabitha said...

Well Dani ~ that sure beats any trip to the supermarket I have had recently!! At least you got home safely and your cupboards are full now!
I haven't been shopping that late for ages ~ when the children were babies I would go late (the supermarkets are mostly 24 hour near here)~ and they were still busy LOL!!
Have a relaxing (no stress) day.
love and hugs
Tabitha XXX

Tanya said...

Dani what were you thinking girl!!!!! going out that late at night!!! by yourself!!!!! consider yourself grounded!!!!

It's so sad to see these young kids doing drugs & drinking! you have to wonder what happened for them to turn to this sort of thing! I'm so glad that we don't have access to alcohol in our grocery stores! but I feel it won't be too long before it happens.... it'll be a sad day when it does!!

Please don't do this again ok!!! hope you've recovered!!! now stay in bed & rest.. oh besides did I mention that you're grounded!!!!

Take care my beautiful friend,

much love & big hugs..
Tanya xoxo

Little Sweethearts said...

Now what would YOUR mama have to say about that! Going out that late at night!

:)

Do be careful, Dani.

The supermarket we go to closes at 8 pm Monday-Thursday. On Friday at 9 pm and on Saturday at 7 pm. Closed on Sundayss! Goes for most shops in Belgium.

I see you've already been grounded, so there's no need for me to do so (I see Tanya's being the 'bad cop', so I can be 'good cop' - I like being the good cop ;))

Hugs,
Tania

Elise said...

Hi Dani

You must have had a real urge to fill your pantry, going out grocery shopping at 11pm. Who would have ever thought that a late night of grocery shopping would turn into such an adventure, meeting all sorts of people.

I can only imagine your relief when you arrived home safe and sound, probably vowing never to hit the grocery shops again that late at night.

I had to speed read through this post because I was terrified that you were going to say that you were involved in some kind of hold up. Thank goodness that you were kept from harm and you are now safe.

I don't know, what are we going to do with you? You get your first bout of energy in weeks and you decide to hit the grocery shops near midnight.

Love and hugs my dear friend
Elise

Emma-Kate Castricum said...

Hi Dani,

I have not stopped by for a few days, I've had a shocking flu and chest infection as has Kitty and Cooper fractured his arm. Crazy week.

I'm so glad I did now though...thank God you looked down and realised your med dosage had changed. Can't even think about what would have happened if nobody picked it up.

Isabella is divine-just perfect. How lucky is Jeanne?

As for you going shopping at 11pm!! The latest I've run off was 10.30pm and it's always really scary in the carpark and full of weirdo's in the store. I prefer to get up and go and 6am before Craig and the kids wake on a weekend.

Hope your feeling okay and getting stronger,
Em

dani said...

tabitha,
the grocery store that i went to used to be opened 24 hours as well... they have just recently started closing at midnight.
evidently, the closer to midnight... the more interesting the clientele, HA!!!
love,
dani

dani said...

tanya,
can i say, "thank you for grounding me!!!"??? i think i want to be grounded for a while after that little excursion, HA!!!
as far as drugs and alcohol... it is very sad. i was just sick that i had given the guy money for MORE alcohol!!! but once i offered, it was too late. (i will pay extra attention the next time.) and, methanphetamens are huge in our country right now. there are actually police stationed at our wal-mart parking lot because manufacturers have decided to start making out of their vehicles...
CRAZY!!!
~~~~~~~~~
i have recovered; and, did i tell you, "thank you for grounding me!!!"??? oh, yeah, i did:D
love,
dani

dani said...

tania...
i actually waited until a little later to go purposefully. i thought there would be no croud and the temperature would have dropped. (it has been extremely hot and humid here for the past couple of weeks.)
oh, well, i've learned my lesson and am grounded to boot, lmao!!!
love and knuffels,
dani
(ps... bad cop/good cop!!! baaahahahahahahaaaa!!!

dani said...

lol, elise...
i guess after re-reading my post, it does sound a little scary. i was never scared while i was in the grocery nor on my way to the car (i had my bag-boy to protect me).
that sounds crazy; i know... i guess i was too tired and my impatience won out over any fear i should have had!!!
(note to self: reread "never take anything for granted", huh???)
on the upside, my cupboards are full as is the refrigerator. and, i'm back to doing what the doctor and tanya ordered... safely, lying here looking at my ten, painted piggies:D tee-hee
love,
dani

dani said...

oh, em...
you have had a HORRIBLE week:C
flu is so scary. and, poor, little cooper hurt his arm???
i hope you three are starting to recover. bless you!!! i will keep you in my prayers:)
love and get well hugs,
dani

Amanda said...

What an adventure, eh?!
Next time send John with your shopping list!
Glad your home safe and well.
l,
A xx

dani said...

that is definitely the plan, amanda:D lol, john asked me why i went... i told him so that he would be able to eat:/
love,
dani

Shannon said...

That sounds like a typical Wal Mart story.. You were at Wal Mart..right?
So glad you made it home safe and sound.
Just the opposite would happen here....no one hardly ever chats while standing in line. I sure do miss the friendliness of Henderson:)
Well....not that friendly!

dani said...

i was actually at sureway, shannon... but you know, around here, no place is sacred!!! and, everybody i was in line with were just as friendly as could be... i was not scared, it was not scary, but i was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past ready to get out of there, HA!!!
l,
d

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the Walmart a few miles up from us! You never know who's out there when the sun goes down.
I'm glad you're safe

dani said...

isn't that the truth, jennifer... ha!!! it makes me wonder, though... how the others in the line would have described me:/
love,
dani

Dana said...

But at least they took the "Butt Cans" out of the isle to discourage smoking whilst shopping...
l,d

Purple Teacup said...

Are you sure you weren't here in Jonesboro? Oh, I forgot that the store is open 24 hours....oh and it's a dry county....but I swear you were here!

dani said...

d...
there's no smoking anywhere in henderson anymore except for in bars:D
ms. d&m quit after about 25 years because she couldn't smoke there anymore, HA!!! YOU KNOW THE ONE!!!
l,
d

dani said...

shannon, i was definitely in henderson... a block and a half away from my house, NICE, huh??? i guess for the most part it's the same across the board especially the closer to midnight it gets:o
HA!!!
love,
dani

Precious Pink Pumps said...

Grocery store open at 11pm? wow. that seems so amazing to me. In Australia we have only recently got Sundays - shops are now open 7 days a week, but that is a recent thing. And on Sundays it's only from 10am - 5pm. I can imagine shopping at odd hours of the night would be an experience!

dani said...

hi, jennifer...
so, glad you visited:) yes, actually, most of our grocery stores are open 24/7.
when i was a little girl, they were all closed on sundays and every week-night by 8pm.
i only went that late because the cupboard was bare, katherine had invited some kids over the next day to swim, and because i had procrastinated... it was crazy there, though!!!
love and hugs,
dani

Robin said...

WooHoo! I am SO glad I am not the only one who has adventures like that at the grocery store..That is hysterical!

I always let the person behind me who only has 1 item cut in front of me. I tell myself it could be an angel testing me & I'd never forgive myself if I wasn't the kind of person Christ would want me to be. I still get fed up though when that person takes up wayyy too much time buying that ONE item!!! :-)

dani said...

ha!!! robin, do you ever buy them a beer???
lmao!!!
love,
dani

PhotoChick said...

Dani, THAT is just hilarious! I coulda told you not to go out after dark 'round these here necks of the woods! I'd make some lame joke about "you Kentuckians"... but it's just as bad or worse here in E'ville! *Sigh* Oh, the rifraff we have, huh?

Well, I'm glad you made it back safely - shoot ALIVE! You'd better send John next time :o)

Love ya girlie!
Amanda

dani said...

you can "kentuckians" if you like, lol!!! i can take it:D but, you're right there are crazies everywhere you go these days and nights...
love,
dani
ps... i NEVER felt unsafe... as is said previously just impatient:/