May 2004

Entries
Current Entry
Previous Entry
Next Entry
Archives

Links
Personal Sites
and Forums/Boards
Diaryland
The Hunger Site

Communication
Write to me

A tale of shopping and two little girls.

Today's shopping venture involved going to the drugstore then to its neighbor the grocery store. Thanks largely to the weather changing, my back was hurting, and I really wanted the trip to be as quick and uneventful as possible.

The drugstore part was fine. I found what I needed, and got to the checkout, where there was one patron in line ahead of me. She had a shopping companion, an adorable little girl just old enough to sit up on her own. The young one was interested in and looking at everything around her, without getting into any of it. She caused me to smile. When it was my turn to check out, the cashier and I both commented on the adorable baby and her pleasant attitude.

Then came the Girlchild from Hell in the grocery store. This one was probably around age 10, and had another little girl of about the same age with her, along with two parents. Girlchild from Hell got hold of one of those large plastic balls that have no purpose except to be colorful and bouncy, and started bouncing the thing. In the same aisle where I was trying to find something.

No one pointed out to her that she was making entirely too much racket. No one complained that she wasn't watching where she was going. Her mother finally did complain when Girlchild from Hell bounced the ball off the mother's butt. No, I'm not kidding.

I was already in frantic mode from the back pain. This happens sometimes. I know I get a weird expression on my face when I'm a little frantic. So an amusing thing finally happened: I scared the kid. Didn't do a thing except look at her. But she took one look at me and went the other direction, taking the ball with her. She stopped bouncing it, too, probably for fear that I'd find her by following the noise.

Sometimes, being tall, not terribly thin, and wearing a frantic face will get you exactly what you want.