January 28 – “Sam’s of the Seventies”

Just a quick little anecdote today.  We were in WalMart grabbing some groceries.  Of course we were.  Where else would we be?  You know, going grocery shopping together has been one of the little communication factors that has kept us going together for the last, oh, forty years or so.  There’s just something about the mindless pushing of the cart and scanning of the shelves that lends itself to talking about other things.  When we were first married we lived in a student apartment across the street from a store called Gemco.  It was the Sam’s of the Seventies.  The location was certainly a factor in choosing the store, but it was also considerably cheaper than any other place.  So Gemco became our training grounds for marital communication.  We even have a joke between us.  Whenever we get one of “those” carts at any other grocery store – you know the kind … wheels get stuck, rolls like you are having to clear a bump every third step – we look at each other and, almost in unison, declare it to be a “Gemco Cart.”  Yep.  That was our only complaint about that market.  The carts were terrible. 

Back to the story.  As we rounded one pf the blind corners in the grocery section of WalMart, we came upon two ladies, each in one of those motorized carts.  It’s not like we could go anywhere, so we stopped to let them finish their conversation.  Actually, one lady had simply stopped the other to see if she knew what time it was.  Rider number two apparently didn’t have a watch or phone or any way to tell time.  Rider number one then glanced our way.  I was already reaching for my phone when she asked, quite politely, if we knew what time it was.  The interchange was pretty classic:

Lady: “Would you happen to know what time it is right now?”

Me: “Yes ma’am.  It is 3:06.”

Lady: “Oh.  Well, then, I’m 3 oh 6’n it outta here.”

Now that brought a grin to my face for sure.  I’ll have to remember that turn of the phrase.  But she wasn’t done yet.  As she motored her was past us she added a final touch.

Lady: “Thank you very much, Homey”

Homey.  Haven’t been called that in quite some time.  I’m hoping it was a term of endearment. 

1 John 2:2 says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Father, grant both of those ladies a good day today, free of pain and full of strength and energy.  Amen.