Wednesday, July 08, 2009
A peculiar character
If I seem to be at the supermarket a lot, it's only because I'm so close to two.
Tonight, a cop at Shoprite checked my backpack. I was dressed neater than usual. Shoprite sells reusable shopping bags, but doesn't make it easy to use them. The cashiers automatically double bag everything. I take the plastic bags over by the window, carefully repack everything in my small backpack, & put the plastic bags back on a checkout rack. After doing this, I dallied a bit while I decided whether go directly to the library or make a short side trip to Radio Shack. I was a little preoccupied. As I walked out the door, I heard a voice ask, "What's in your bag, sir?" Eh? Is he asking me? Yes, he was. I had to take off the backpack, unzip it, hope I'd kept the receipt rather than left it in a plastic bag. Thank heavens, it was in there. At least the cop was apologetic. After 9/11, I expected to be doing it all the time in PATH stations. "What's in your bag, sir?" 15 pounds of old record albums.
Well, the cop in the Shoprite was young, & with more experience he'll better read the difference between a suspicious character & a merely peculiar character.
***
Yesterday, a guy behind me in line at the 7-11 asked, "Did you used to live in Linden?" I moved out of Linden in 1990. I said yes. He said I used to go to his sub shop, he remembered all his regular customers. Then I made a faux pas. I said, "Oh, Blue's." He looked disappointed & said, no it was BZ's sub shop near the theater. BZ's was my girlfriend's preferred sub shop, she was hooked on the tunafish subs there, liked mayonnaise, & she only got tunafish. But when I was having a sub built just for myself, I went to Blue's by the train station, he had better rolls & good provolone, & listened to me concerning proportions of oil & vinegar. I didn't say that to the guy. I thanked him for remembering me. I guess I just look older, not different.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Tonight, a cop at Shoprite checked my backpack. I was dressed neater than usual. Shoprite sells reusable shopping bags, but doesn't make it easy to use them. The cashiers automatically double bag everything. I take the plastic bags over by the window, carefully repack everything in my small backpack, & put the plastic bags back on a checkout rack. After doing this, I dallied a bit while I decided whether go directly to the library or make a short side trip to Radio Shack. I was a little preoccupied. As I walked out the door, I heard a voice ask, "What's in your bag, sir?" Eh? Is he asking me? Yes, he was. I had to take off the backpack, unzip it, hope I'd kept the receipt rather than left it in a plastic bag. Thank heavens, it was in there. At least the cop was apologetic. After 9/11, I expected to be doing it all the time in PATH stations. "What's in your bag, sir?" 15 pounds of old record albums.
Well, the cop in the Shoprite was young, & with more experience he'll better read the difference between a suspicious character & a merely peculiar character.
***
Yesterday, a guy behind me in line at the 7-11 asked, "Did you used to live in Linden?" I moved out of Linden in 1990. I said yes. He said I used to go to his sub shop, he remembered all his regular customers. Then I made a faux pas. I said, "Oh, Blue's." He looked disappointed & said, no it was BZ's sub shop near the theater. BZ's was my girlfriend's preferred sub shop, she was hooked on the tunafish subs there, liked mayonnaise, & she only got tunafish. But when I was having a sub built just for myself, I went to Blue's by the train station, he had better rolls & good provolone, & listened to me concerning proportions of oil & vinegar. I didn't say that to the guy. I thanked him for remembering me. I guess I just look older, not different.
Labels: Elizabeth NJ
