Woolgathering

Omigod! Massive embarassment and stupidity at the supermarket yesterday. Almost through the store. Last stop the deli counter. 4-5 clerks working behind counter, but only two of them waiting on customers. Woman in front of me order multiple items. Down by the seafood, a tall blonde kind of blowsy woman chats with the fishmonger and has a loud infectious laugh. I am watching her and waiting and even thinking, "she might make a good character."
Finally my turn, and I order my 1/2 pound of imported ham (less water and fewer preservative). In the meantime, Significant Other has decided to pick up a bottle of plonk.

I grab the cart and meet him at the checkout counter. Remember that I still need the shrimp on sale and I can't find them and have to ask twice and finally get my paws on one and return to the checkout. The comestibles, as they say, are about half scanned, and something looks weird. Milk we didn't buy. Junkfood we didn't buy. Pork chops and broccoli we did buy. Ye gods, it's the wrong cart! S.O. is a notorious woolgatherer in checkout lines, and has not noticed that these are not our groceries. I did the woolgathering at the deli counter.

I go chasing off to find the right cart which is by the deli counter where I left it. I look around for someone cartless and even ask a couple shoppers, but no one is missing a cart. Back at the checkout line, chastened, the foreign cart and its contents have disappeared. Maybe they announced the problem over the P.A. system and all was made well. Keep looking for a mad customer, but all seems normal. Can't help laughing at us. I know from experience that the checkout lady could have scanned hand grenades and Kalashnikovs and S.O. would have not noticed a thing in his pleasant daydreams.

Laughed all the way home. Tonight, I cooked the veggies and the pork chops and S.O. asked where the wine was. Ooops! The wine was in the stranger's cart. Wonder if they noticed. If not, there's going to be heap big mystery of how could I have bought this wine?


Gather ye wool while ye may.

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