A few months ago, I participated in a Comedy Gauntlet. There
were sixteen comedians, we each had 90 seconds to sling our jokes, make folks
laugh, and hope our efforts would reward us with the title of Champion. The
competition was lighthearted, and fun. This was not the same experience with my
grocery store gauntlet.
A gave my grocery store visit the name “gauntlet” because it
fit the definition that I came across. Gauntlet can be defined as “a series of
challenging, dangerous, or unpleasant experiences – often with obstacles…giving
you a hard time.” Yep, that fits my grocery store excursion.
As I entered the store and tried to grab a cart, I
discovered a great deal of strength was needed to pull the carts apart. I don’t
know who my grocery store has retrieving carts from the parking lot. I imagine
the person to have the physique of the Incredible Hulk, and his temperament when
jamming the carts together.
My attempt to pull the carts apart reminded me of playing
tug of war as a child. I planted my feet in a firm stance, placed one hand on
each cart. I began pulling one cart toward me, while pushing the other in the
opposite direction. I’m pretty sure I was grunting loudly. After a few tries, I
gave up on that row of carts and moved to the next one.
My first stop was at the produce section where I immediately
became immersed in a math problem, fractions. For the love fruit smoothies in
the summer, I was trying to determine the best deal on blueberries, the one pint
for $6.99 or the 9.8 ounces that were two for $8.99.
You may look at that scenario and say, “that’s easy math” or
“it depends on how many blueberries you want”. The bottom line was that I didn’t
want to think, I just wanted to grab enough blueberries to get me through a
week of smoothies. Now, if you love math, here’s a story problem for you.
If little Angie wants to make three smoothies in a week
and she uses a ¼ cup of blue berries in each smoothie, how many 9-ounce containers
of blueberries would she need?
When you have the answer to the story problem, post it for
me and I’ll take the info along on my next shopping trip.
The next ingredient for my famous smoothie was strawberries.
They looked fresh, then again, it could have been the overhead lights that made
them look appealing. The price was right, they usually cost $5.99 per
container, but were on sale, two for $6.99.
I grabbed the strawberry deal, but knew it meant I would
need to make more than smoothies in the coming week. Experience has taught me
that when strawberries are on sale, they are near the end of their shelf life
and will need to be eaten within a few days.
I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed in the fruit
section, but I wasn’t giving up yet. I was in the midst of my grocery store
gauntlet; faced with one challenge after another. I still needed to select my
melons, not for the smoothie, but just because I want other fruits for my
meals.
Ah, the melons – watermelon and cantaloupe were what I wanted.
Off I went to inspect the melons – sniff, thump and listen. I thumped the watermelon, listened for a
hollow sound, and hoped I had selected a sweet, ready to eat melon.
My grocery store gauntlet was NOT fun like the Comedy
Gauntlet. I made it through because I knew I would transform the situation into
humor at some point.
What exciting, wacky, or odd things have you encountered at
the grocery store? Don’t stress about it, laugh at it.
