When am I getting that camera hat? I tried to get a full view shot of this poor shopper at City Market today, but he kept looking at me so I had to pretend the camera was a cel phone, a behavior that used to drive Dinah particularly nuts, because it is a bit nutty. "Oh, hi. What are you doing? Waiting to take a picture?"
His cart was full of nothing but Stouffers frozen foods, many, many many red boxes, and his pyramid silhouette looked as if he'd swallowed the meals trays and all. Talk about lonely fat guy menus, poor fellow. But I guess he likes the way they taste. He was definitely in the 300 pounder club. Only Stouffers in the cart.
Then we went to the post office to mail a goody box to Dinah: warm clothes, dark chocolate, jelly beans, trail mix, bagels, lip gloss, postits, Cheesits. I also had a 3 pack of my dvds that some nice person had purchased this week. I thought I did the smart thing by going up to the kiosk to mail my packages since the post Veteran's Day line was so long. But as I rolled through the automated menu, I knew I had to cover every trace of id that showed my box had once held a case of wine. Otherwise I'd go on the do not call list or the do not fly list or something inappropriate. (It's illegal to use those boxes.)
I decorated that box with so many Priority Mail stickers there was a pile of waxy peel backs left when I was done. I got my postage, put the box in the drop down box feeder along with the dvds which I'd forgotten to stamp..(only remembered that part later.)
While Jon stood with Molly outside the p.o., a woman came up to him and said, "What a nice dog. I have a dog at home, a black Lab." "That's wonderful," Jon said.
"Yes," she told him, "my husband always wanted a black Lab and I found a place on the Internet where you can get them, stuffed." (as in TAXIDERMY!)
She went on: "He didn't seem all that amused by it."
She looked like a totally modern grandmother normal.
I have another story about a similar scary modern grandmother normal, but it's so creepy I will wait till another day.
7 comments:
I take grocery store photos, too. It isn't easy. When I work up my courage I want to sit in the Wal Mart McDonalds and take photos of the random population. I also want to make a grocery video, complete with the piped music and the vacant eyed mindless aspect of it all. The other day I watched a couple stare with consideration at the vast display of "lunch meat" while The Byrds' To Everything there is a season Turn turn turn wafted over us. I hope your Stouffers man found the tuna noodle casserole. My store is always out of that one. Do you ever want to know more about such shoppers, do you want to see his kitchen, or find out if he can cook anything, and does he watch TV while eating. Is he feeding others, other than himself. Does any of that interest you?
Photos of everyday places -the kitchen, the grocery, etc.. also make cool time capsules. Have you ever heard of Charles Phoenix? He collects old slides and posts them on his website and in books. The details- everything from color schemes, clothing,appliances, and stuff on the shelf- are fascinating to me. It really is like going back in time.
That's funny with you pretending the camera was a cell phone!
Katy, Since their very onset, I've wished that surveillance cameras were a tv station or channel. Grocery stores fascinate me, and the differences between even the big stores in Montrose, Colorado and Northridge, Califoria are immense.
Namowal, time needed to explore Charles Phoenix. Thanks!
ps katy, of course this guy was an ultimate lonely guy watching tv on the tray, but why wasn't there ANYTHING except Stouffers in the cart?
This man bears a striking resemblance to Quasi lying in bed watching TV, up there on the left. Do you think it could it have been Quasi, a little older?
(The way he shops makes perfect sense to me. I hope he found the mac & cheese!) Katy, can I post your Dairy Queen photos sometime?
Katy, I'd like to see your photos. I wasn't trying to criticize Stouffers in particular, just his absolute brand loyalty. I'll bet he watches tv while eating, but I wonder how many of those trays constitutes a meal.
I've always enjoyed seeing what other people have in their carts. Once I saw an obituary on the man who invented the shopping cart!
I always hope that characters will play against type--his cook is out of town, this boxed diet is a temp fix; he actually cooks, but everyone else wants to be stuffed with Stouffers; he does computer stuff while eating; he donates Stouffers to a homeless shelter---something, anything other than an endless chain of Stouffers by the light of the television. I'd rather chew on a carrot and listen to AM radio.
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