The older I get…

There’s a grocery store in our area that has a Starbucks inside it. They used to give us little cup holders to put on the side of our cart, but I guess people left them out, threw them away, or took them home, because they don’t anymore. So if you get a drink while you’re shopping you either have to (a) carry it and try to push the cart with one hand or (b) try to balance the cup of steaming liquid (or icy liquid) in your cart somewhere. I can’t speak for others, but this is an accident waiting to happen for me. Meanwhile, across town is another grocery store that has not one, but TWO, cup holders BUILT IN to their carts – both small and large carts! It would be great, but there’s no coffee shop in the store.

Speaking of large and small carts, I don’t understand why people can’t put carts back in the cart corrals correctly. Even at the store that post huge signs (SMALL CARTS HERE! LARGE CARTS HERE!), there is a mish-mash of carts that some poor schmuck has to pull out, one at a time, to get organized to return to the store. I guess any old way into the corral is better than leaving the cart in the parking lot to roll around, scraping other cars in the wind, or taking up an entire parking spot.

Here’s another thing I don’t get: why do bun-makers package hot dog bun in packages of 8? Every hot dog maker in the world packages the actual dogs in sets of 10 (sometimes in convenient 5-packs tied together, so you could freeze one pack). If I want these things to come out evenly, I have to purchase 80 of each and I rarely have that many people over for franks.

There are, apparently, a few different definitions of the word “Yield” on street signs. In our town, I believe when you see “yield to pedestrians” or “pedestrians have the right of way,” it means when you see a pedestrian in the crosswalk, or approaching the crosswalk, you should slow and stop. Some people seem to think that when you see people in or approaching, it means continue at your current rate of speed until the last minute, and then screech to a halt (thereby inducing heart palpitations on those folks walking). Some think it means speed up and get through the crosswalk before the person gets to the center (sort of like a MarioKart game). A few others seem to think “yield” means “go as fast as you possibly can without looking in either direction because you’re the most important.”

Sports analysts make me crazy, too. These folks are paid a lot of money to explain what a given team must do to win the game: the winning plays, the strategies, the tricks and tips. They spend hours a week doing this! For me, I’ve always thought it was pretty straight-forward. The team that wins is the one who scored the most points. Has it ever happened that the team with the best coach, best strategy, best plays, and best tricks won a game in which they didn’t outscore the opponent? Didn’t think so.

These same experts drive me just a tad nuts when they mix sports’ metaphors and catchphrases. The other day, I heard one proclaim “and it’s in the paint!” He was referring to a touchdown in football, but just listening I would have though he meant a basketball lay-up. Later, his cohort said, “that’s a grand slam,” referring to a pick-six. Again, describing football with a (not appropriate) baseball term.

The older I get, the less I understand, it seems.

1 Comment

  1. John Llewellyn

    actually – your understanding of this situation has little to do with you getting older —
    it is simply that you are more aware of the lack of understanding of others when living out life – also, many folks have never learned that words actually have meaning and should be used appropriately – just saying, that a simple YES or NO to a question could make things go more smoothly – but then again, I do NOT know everything, just trying to survive safely in life!! Another great post – always makes me think outside the BOX!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 Susie's Snippets

Thanks for readingUp ↑