Grocery Store Phobia
Posted: Sunday, March 28, 2010
by Brianna Popsickle
I enjoy meeting new people while shopping, but due to recent events I'm developing a fear of grocery stores.
I was in the produce aisle when I became aware of two men staring at me. From across the vegetables one hollered, "Somebody got some sun." (I'd just come back from a trip south.)
Embarrassed, I smiled.
"And she got it in all the right places," his friend bellowed.
I quickly moved on and finished shopping. I was placing my groceries on the counter, when one of the cantaloupes rolled off and landed at the foot of a guy standing in line with his wife. I went over, picked it up and said, "Don't mind me, I'm just playing ball with my cantaloupe."
He smiled while his wife looked at me stone-faced. She obviously had no sense of humour.
I returned the cantaloupe to the counter when suddenly the man came towards me, arms outstretched like Frankenstein.
"Mind if I play with your cantaloupes?" he asked loudly.
I stood speechless while the cashier looked at him with disgust. I glanced at his wife who was glaring at me! What had I done?
I made a quick exit and drove to the next store.
I was still shaking my head in disbelief as I pushed my cart down the aisle. A sweet old man was pushing his cart towards me, while a young guy stood behind him looking at boxes of cereal.
Just as I got beside the old man and was about to pass in front of the young guy, I said, "Excuse me." At that precise moment, however, the old guy let one rip, the stench filling the air. I looked at the young guy as if to say, Can you believe that? only to see him staring back at me, wide-eyed.
He thought it was me! I felt my face go red, which only made it worse. I wanted to say, "It wasn't me! It was him!" But the old guy, walking tight-cheeked, was already rounding the corner.
For the second time that day, I made a quick exit.
I drove home unsure which had been more exhausting; the hours I'd spent at work or the hour I'd spent shopping. Was everyone losing their minds, or was it just me? Did things like this happen to other people when they shopped?
I didn't know, but there was one thing I was sure of, Happy Hour would be starting early!
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hi Brianna I never have a problem when I am shopping I think it may have something to do with the gun in my hand. All joking aside the only real problem I have with shopping is having to pay for the goodsKeep wellKacyWell I better get me one Kacy! Actually I probably couldn't bring myself to use it, just like the tomato I had in my hand. Thanks for reading!
People seem to become more rude all the time and they seem to think they are so funny. I am sorry you had such a bad experience.I don't think they thought they were being rude, I think, like you suggested, they thought they were being funny. Looking back on it, I guess it was... a little. Thanks for reading and commenting Linda.
Hi Brianna.Excuse me for laughing at your plight, but it is kind of funny. Well, I didn't actually laugh out loud, but I did smile a lot.THANKFULLY, nothing quite like that has happened to me ... yet. There's still time.I'm sure you've recovered nicely, though. You've always struck me as being quite plucky.Thanks for sharing your trip shopping so that we can all feel so much better about our own. :)Most Respectfully,DianneI'm glad my shopping experience made you smile. I think my husband would agree with you, I can be quite plucky at times, depending on my mood. He thinks he's married to Cybil, never knows quite what to expect. Thanks for reading and commenting. Now Dianne, don't you have work to do? Hope your new writing career is going well! :)
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