A funny thing happened to me at the grocery store...
...is how the joke goes.
Yesterday I was nearly out of bananas, so I went to a couple of stores to pick up some bananas and other produce.
First I stopped into Whole Foods, and I was buying about 20 ripe bananas. The checker was happy to see someone buying so many bananas, then asked if I was planning on making banana bread. Before I paid my bill, the checker learned how to make the most delicious banana ice cream ever.
The next place I went to was Sam's Club. I purchased three 3 lb. bags of ripe bananas, and this time the checker didn't seem to be as thrilled to see me buying so many bananas. She warned me that if I didn't eat all those bananas I would have to make banana bread.
Sometimes I will glance at someone's shopping cart and notice all the "stuff" they are purchasing. At Sam's Club I saw some ladies buying several packages of white hot dog buns. I didn't bother to ask them anything about their purchase. I didn't think to ask them why they were buying all those buns, or if they eat them all, what will they do when they'll be all stopped up for days to weeks.
Sometimes I notice lots of meat items in people's carts. I don't think to ask them if they have a flock of vultures or a den of lions that they are going home to feed. However, I've had friends have checkers ask if they have rabbits or horses, when they buy lots of carrots.
It makes me think how far society is removed from a natural food diet, when it is okay for someone to comment or question a customer with lots of fresh produce, but not okay to comment or question a customer with lots of processed and packaged and animal products.
Sometimes I wonder if I bump into someone I know, and they see some items I'm buying for my family who isn't 100% raw, what they might think. Do they realize that I'm buying this 'stuff' for my family and not for myself. Do I need to explain this to them?
I read an article about why people look at other people's grocery carts. The answer was that people are generally nosey and bored when they are in line at the check out stand.
I guess what it boils down to, is that we will all probably be looking at each other's carts, and sometimes what we see will make us shake our heads. It is up to each of us to use a little common sense and courtesy when bringing up the subject of another's shopping cart contents, and also not to be too quick to judge that the person pushing the cart isn't always the person that is going to eat everything inside of it.
