The things we take for granted

By Jeff Becraft

Now, I am someone who actually likes to go grocery shopping.

But I am a dangerous grocery shopper. I can go in to get two items and I walk out with a bill of $100.

I like to go up and down aisles and see what’s what. And then I’ll see something I didn’t even come in for, and it is off to the races.  “Wow… that hot sauce looks good.  We’ve never tried that one before.”  And into the cart it goes.  Off to the next thing… that is not on the list… in the hunt.

Even though it sounds like I am just meandering around (and sometimes this is true), there are other times that I am on a mission. (Just to set the record straight, my mission is never to turn a two-item-stop-by-the-grocery-store trip into a $100 excursion.  It just works out that way.)

One time recently, I went around a turn hot with the cart up on two wheels. Thankfully, there was no other shopper around that blind curve.

But here is the issue… even though I enjoy going in the grocery store, there are people who are on their phones… while driving a shopping cart… out in the middle of the aisle.  There ought to be a law about this. How am I supposed to get over to the aisle with the hot sauces if I am trapped on this aisle?

Now, I have heard it is difficult to pass legislation on people driving and texting because how would you ever be able to enforce it? Well, in a grocery store, it’s all right out there in the open.  Their hands are even right there in front of them. You could make a citizen’s arrest and handcuff them to their grocery cart. You could then take them out to the parking lot for 10 minutes and leave them (but of course, not in the designated area for shopping carts).  It would kind of be like a “time out”… and they can just think about what a threat to society they are.

I admit that there are times when I have been guilty of being on the phone while driving a grocery cart… so I am not here to throw tomatoes at anyone.  (And if I did, I would at least take them out of the can first.)  I am sure there has been more than one husband phoning home and asking, “They don’t have the exact kind you told me to get… what do you want me to do?”

Even with clogged aisles and the danger of people being on their phone while driving a grocery cart, what a privilege it is to be able to go into a grocery store… especially when 80% of the world will only eat one meal a day.  The things we take for granted…

Jeff Becraft is the Director of Our Place of Hope and the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Our Place of Hope is a paradigm shift for people living with mental illness that encourages them to regain meaning, purpose, and hope for their lives. You can connect with Jeff at  [email protected].