Shopping Carts

On Friday I shared a sweet moment with a couple that I would gauge as something near my age.  The unique part of this is that none of us spoke a single word.

I and the couple entered Costco at the same time and arrived at the lines of shopping carts just as a very old woman selected a cart from one of the three lines.  I freed a cart from the second line of carts just a few seconds before the couple grabbed a cart from the third.  In the meantime, the old woman pushed her cart two steps, dropped her overly large purse inside the cart and, with her head down, began digging through the purse with great earnest—completely unaware that she had blocked me and the couple from pushing away with our own carts.  I stood pinned between the wall and dozens of carts.  The couple stood on the opposite side of the old woman but was blocked from entering the store by a row of carts.

The old woman remained there, blocking us, for a considerable length of time.

Oddly enough, I felt far from frustrated as I watched the old woman.  Out of respect for the woman, and feeling no particular need to hurry, I simply stood there in great amusement.  When I glanced over at the couple, both the man and woman offered broad smiles of mutual understanding.

We happily stood there waiting for the woman to finish fiddling with this or that in her purse before she pushed away, oblivious of us.

Perhaps this is odd, but the highlight of my Friday was right there when that old woman blocked our way.

--Mitchell Hegman