A Trip to the Store–Reprise

I wish there weren’t a reprise to this previous post. But there is.

Just now I walked to the store. No kiddos this time. I have had a shopping list for awhile but have been avoiding going. For one thing, there never seems to be a good time and I rarely have the car in the mornings, which is generally the only time I energy for much of anything. For another it got really humid around here. Usually the humidity stays at bay at the beginning of summer when the temps are 110+. But for some unknown reason, the humidity showed up early instead of waiting until the temps go down to around 100 at the end of summer. Praise Jesus in all things, right?! Right Suz?! Right?! Right. Praise Jesus. Needless to say, it’s awful sweaty in these parts and everything seems to take four times as much energy as it should.

BUT I walked to the store anyhow cause frankly, I need to feed my family.

I chose today to go past the store I wrote about several days ago… where the owner sprayed deodorant all over himself and then watched me fall down the stairs. That man isn’t my favorite (although Jesus loves him and I should try harder) and I walked past his store today to shop at another store where the men are a bit more honest and respectful.

I exchanged some friendly greetings with the guys at this other shop down the street, purchased a few things and walked back towards the deodorant man’s store. Stores aren’t very well stocked in my part of town and most shops don’t carry everything I need. I reluctantly had to return to deodorant man’s store to (almost) finish my list.

He was standing by the door when I walked in and watched me set my shopping bag (from the other store) down on the floor while I looked around. He looked at me like “What’s that?!” and I motioned toward the bag and replied “It’s from another store’ (in Arabic of course). I smiled and moved on, thinking that the man must know and understand that it’s a free society and I can shop wherever I darn well please. He should be lucky he gets my business at all, considering his usual level of rudeness.

Anyway, as I walked away he stood over my bag, blatantly peering inside to see what I dared to have purchased at another store. And THEN he kicked the bag a few times trying to get a better view its contents until the whole bag FELL OVER, including the two dozen eggs I had placed inside. I came racing over, in disbelief that he would kick my groceries out of curiosity/jealousy! He apologized (sorta) and went on with his business. At this point I wished my Arabic was SO much better so that I could give him a piece of my mind about snooping around in my groceries and therefore my business! The nerve of that man.

Alas, it’s probably a good thing that my Arabic isn’t so good cause if I made the guy angry then he might rip me off with his prices and then where would I be?! Without a cheap frozen strawberry dealer two blocks from my house. That’s where I’d be. And I don’t wanna be there. I wanna eat a smoothie for lunch.

Let’s hope there is no encore to this Walk to the Store series…