but I finally had no choice but to go grocery shopping. I was out of bread, milk and (gasp) dogfood! So after work, I trudged to the grocery store in 87 degree heat.....walking uphill 20 miles. No....wait....just kidding about that last part. Even though I felt like I'd done that.Now I am able to walk.....I just no longer do it well. With my bad knee and my bad hip (I know I sound like Grandpa McCoy) I cannot walk for long periods of time. So I opt for the riding grocery buggy. When these things work well, they are fantastic! I can get my shopping done twice as fast because they move faster than I can walk. That's when they work well.
Most stores only have 2 or 3 of them available. Some of them have definitely seen better days. A lot of stores have a problem with PARENTS letting their kids play with them (take them for a ride through-out the store, terrorizing small children and seniors on foot.) So, the problem with going shopping late in the day is that the buggies are basically pooped. You may walk in and find them all neatly lined up with their cords plugged in getting charged, but that doesn't mean that they have been sitting there more than 5 minutes. It seems like I have a greatest knack for picking the buggy that will die halfway through the store at the farthest point from help. I will usually have a full basket when this happens. One time a checker rescued me by bringing me another cart and we swapped out the groceries from my totally dead buggy to the other one.
Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to ride one of these things when its nearly dead? A snail moves faster. I'm serious. They barely move and you inch your way toward the front of the store so you can unload your groceries. Grass grows faster than these things move. But.....ahhhh when they are working well and fully charged.....you breeze down the aisles, the wind whipping your hair back as scenery of cereal boxes and canned goods whiz by. Why....just the joy of it makes you forget about all the high prices of the items being offered.
Unfortunately, today was another day in which I chose the buggy that died within minutes of me taking it. Since I wasn't getting a lot, I continued to use it and inched my way through shopping. The red light blinking and the beep beep signal convinced me I'd better forget the last few things and head for the check out. I must have been a pretty pitiful sight. No wonder that 3 year old was looking at me strangely. I don't want to think about it.
