I stood aside as she steered past me toward the automatic door at Stop and Shop. This well-dressed, elderly woman, quite adept at maneuvering her motorized wheelchair, zoomed past me without slowing. I followed her inside and waited behind her while she got her bearings.
As she moved on, I went to get my cart and began reciting my mental list. As I headed to the produce section, I saw her again. She was approaching the very substantial “Make-Your-Own” salad bar that the store featured. I didn’t think anything of it, until…..she saddled up alongside the salad bar and reached into the bowl of olives. I laughed to myself, slightly surprised (more than slightly grossed out) at her nerve. I’ve seen people take a grape off the bunch every now and then. Not a federal offense, I suppose, though I’m quite certain it goes against some health code.
She reached again. Wow. This lady’s got big ones….She continued motoring around the salad bar, sampling every possible item within her reach! I looked around in amazement to see if I was the only one shocked by this. Staff walked near and about, and although I didn’t catch anyone else with their mouth agape, I am certain someone had to see this, as she was not the least bit discreet in her actions.
It occurred to me that perhaps this well-dressed woman was (contrary to all appearances) suffering an economic hardship. I considered offering to buy her a full blown salad of her own that we could prepare using any of the available utensils on hand. I hesitated because I didn’t want to embarrass her…….but neither did I want her denture grip on someone else’s pickled beets!
I admit it…..I did nothing. Stood and watched for 5 minutes while this lady circled round and round leisurely popping croutons, hard-boiled eggs, chick peas, and pineapple chunks in her brightly painted mouth. Either she thought the store was offering an awful lot of test samples, or it really is true……”if you want something in life, you have to go and get it for yourself.”
Note to self: Don’t get things from the make your own salad bar. It is hard to know what to do in those situations.