Here and Next: August 2021

I was in Mom's Organic Market when I noticed an unattended shopping basket sitting on the floor between the snack and dairy aisles. The basket was pretty generic: the plastic kind with those fold-in, fold-up handles usually found at the entrance of most food stores.

Anyway, in this basket, unattended and sitting on the floor, were three large and heavy glass bottles of fruit juice precariously stacked on top of an already rather large load of grocery items.

My first thought was... that some store clerk somewhere, was in the process of restocking the items and was either called away, became distracted, or forgot the items were there.

My second thought was... that at any moment, some large guy with huge biceps wearing a WWE Championship belt would round the bend and masterfully pick up his basket and make a signature move towards the register.

Nope.

Instead, this tall, slender woman from out of nowhere... bent over, grabbed the handles of the basket, paused... as if mentally questioning for a minute if she could actually pull this off... AND... in one single motion lifted the hefty overflowing basket and carried it away. Away where? I can only assume to either cram in a few more items or to pay and be on her merry way.

Honestly, I don't know if she was merry or not, it's just a saying.

But what I can say with certainty from personal experience and by observing others: those dragging baskets too heavy to lift and those juggling more items than their bare arms can carry...

ALWAYS... go for the cart!

Source: fineartamerica.com (1960's)

Unless you're worried that there's so much room in your almost empty shopping cart that your single, half-gallon of milk might get lonely. I know, you only came in for one thing.

But puh-lease... before you know it, your milk will have plenty of company.