We’ve all handled our fair share of squeak-ridden, lop-sided, hard-to-push grocery carts. I’m not the only person that test-pushes the shopping cart to ensure the wheels glide freely before accepting its service. I’ve determined Costco has the best grocery carts.
Last Friday, I spent a moment to dwell on the courtesy, then smiled at the first grip and yank of the cart from its long, intersected rack of carts.
I never imagined that a confident young man would test the sturdiness limits of a Costco cart. Here’s the story, unfiltered and authentic.
With a grasp on my cart handle, I perused the main aisle and continued with the flow of shopper traffic. I searched each endcap for the newest featured shiny object and maneuvered a left turn. There he was—a self-designated cart sturdiness tester.
I’m not the youngest square can of Spam— I’ve nearly reached my expiration date, but this is my first sight of a full-grown man lounging in a shopping cart, oblivious of his surroundings.
He shared his compact cart space with one large bag of dog food and happily chatted on his mobile phone as if it was an everyday thing to sit in a cart at Costco, in the beer aisle (is that significant?).
I sincerely wished I could’ve seen him climb into the thing— viral potential. At any rate, I had to snap a photo.
I’m not one to pry into another’s conversation, but my imagination played it all out.
“Hey, I’ve got plenty of time. What’s up? Nah, I’m just hanging out in a shopping cart with my dog food. What’s that? Oh, just a forklift beeping. Tell me about that date you had last week. No, kidding! That happened to me last year…
“Oh, Dude, wait a minute— someone needs to get beer.” Then speaking to the shopper with his phone held to his chest, “Just push me a little bit so you can reach what you need.”
I smiled and wheeled my cart onward.
By Diana Warren
