A few weeks ago, I was at the grocery store purchasing assorted... groceries. After grabbing some bell peppers, deli turkey, sea scallops, parmesan, heavy cream, bananas, milk, orange juice, butter, eggs, cereal, bread, gatorade, mustard, pretzels, almonds, pasta, tomatoes, onions, flour, gorgonzola, oranges, cilantro, ground beef, tortillas, whole chickens, limes, tortillas, lettuce, spinach, sugar, bagels, and hot sauce, I proceeded to the checkout lane and unloaded the contents of my cart onto the conveyor.
As I stood there waiting and pretending not to read and look at the pretty faces on the covers of People, Cosmo, Good Housekeeping, Us, and the National Enquirer, the man in front of me looked at me for a couple seconds. I thought nothing of it and quickly averted my gaze from "Tom Has Katie Trapped!" to Readers Digest as the man's items were being scanned.
"Excuse me, did you play tennis?" (It must've been my physique that gave me away.)
"Uhh, yeah, I did..."
"I knew I recognized you from somewhere! I'm Mike... I used to coach you at the club. Ajay, right? Sorry, didn't mean to weird you out there."
"OH! Yeah! How have you been? Still coaching a lot?"
"Well, I'm in real estate now, but I still run some youth stuff in summer at Burns Field. Are you still playing?"
"I haven't played competitively since high school, but I still like to get out from time to time."
3 items left to scan.
"If you get a chance, stop by Burns Field on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We'll hit around for a bit."
1 item left. This seems like a good time to wrap up this conversation.
"Definitely. I'll swing by after work sometime soon. It was good to see you."
"You too. Take it easy."
Timed it perfectly. He just needs to pay and walk his cart out to his car.
"PRICE CHECK ON YELLOW SQUASH."
Fuck.
We both spend the next 90 seconds standing there, silently staring at the gum and mints near the TV Guide.
"Okay, that'll be $78.39."
He pays and leaves with a nod.
And I never stop by Burns Field.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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2 comments:
After rereading this thoroughly enjoyable post I'm left with 2 questions...why haven't you posted lately and what on Earth were you gonna cook with all those rad ingredients?
I made several things ranging from seared scallops (in bell pepper alfredo) to tacos to roast chicken. My weekly grocery purchases are relatively eclectic.
And I was planning on posting more this week, but I was always told that it's better to be thought an idiot than to open my mouth and prove it.
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