So you know that I injured my knee last week, right? And you’re also aware that Christmas is like a week away right?  And further, you know that I’m the worst kind of “wait till the last minute” person when it comes to the holidays, right? Ok.  So yesterday was Jim’s day off and we needed to go food shopping really bad.  You know, like, “Mom, I can’t eat Ramen for breakfast. Again.”  Yeah, like that. Worse, I was out of wine.  I knew that I had to figure out how to do this and there is no way that I could send Jim to Publix by himself, with a list this big and all my coupons.  He’d come home with all the wrong brands (control much, Christine?) and things that weren’t on the list, the he “saw and thought you might want”.  No.  I sent him to the store the other night for Seltzer and cat food and he spent $85.00.  I knew that I had to be there.

I can walk around the house, but I really didn’t think that walking around the market was a good idea, so I decided that I would use one of those scooter things.  Jim and I got into the car, drove over to Publix and Jim dropped me off at the door and went to park the car.  Having never driven one before, I was a little nervous and I really didn’t know the scooter choice etiquette at Publix, but clearly there’s a hierarchy.  Am I allowed to unplug them myself?  Do I need employee assistance?  How do I know if there’s enough of a charge to get me through my shopping list?  The questions were endless, but then Jim came in and just took over which I was sort of grateful for – it’s not usually my preference, but my leg hurt and I really didn’t know what to do.  So he picked one out, told me to sit down, which I did. I turned it on and there was a power gauge reading full, so I was set. I wasn’t worried about driving it at all, hell, I used to drive a forklift, so I just pushed the lever and started to move forward.  Just then, a couple walked right in front of me, completely cutting me off.  They didn’t even notice.  I stopped short, which jarred my knee and sent a sharp pain right up my leg. I said something about carelesness, but these two had absolutely no idea that I was even there.

I decided to get over it and move forward (ha! no pun intended).  I turned into the store from the lobby and I was surprised at how quick the scooter actually was.  I was zooming through the deli, on over to produce and there were quite a few people over by the lettuce.  I sort of parked the scooter at the end of the refrigerator case and waited for it to thin out a little bit.  I wasn’t blocking any walkways, I made sure that I wasn’t in anyone’s way and that I wasn’t blocking any items that someone might need to reach.  Person after person walked in front of me, even when a spot in front of the arugula opened and I was clearly headed for it, someone stepped right in front of me.  I finally was able to get the arugula after I got a little more aggressive about jockeying for position and again, moved on.

In the canned goods aisle, there were two people, me and a women in her mid 50s, fairly well dressed in a holiday sweater set, hair done, makeup, very well put together.  I was going one way, and she the other.  Motoring up towards the end of the aisle, this woman stepped in front of the scooter, barely giving me time to stop, picked up a can, put it back, picked up another, put it back, picked up two, straightened, turned, turned back and put them back.  At that point, I said “Excuse me, please.”  She stepped back enough to let me pass, but never even glanced at me.  So much for her holiday outfit.  Merry Freakin’ Christmas.

There were some people who were very nice, who apologized when they realized they had cut me off, or bumped into me, but there were far too many people who were rude and inconsiderate and it really upset me.  I couldn’t help but think of the people who live their lives trying to get around in scooters or with walkers, canes and wheel chairs.  This is a temporary injury for me and next week, I’ll be able to knock those rude assholes down, but not everyone is so lucky.  I’m pretty observant and I always offer help when I see someone struggling, give the right of way to someone not as ambulatory as I am, but I’ll be even more aware of it now and to the lady in the Christmas sweater… I can’t wait to “run into” you again.

*photo by bradleygee

It is OK to use my photos or content provided a link back and proper crediting is given